My friend, Vicki Dello Joio of The Way of Joy recently shared a short video with me from her one woman show, “What’s Wrong with a Mouse?” As I watched it, I heard the audience laughing and noticed that I wasn’t laughing. I was smiling and my eyes were filling with tears. Take a look.
What struck me about this piece was her father’s question, “What did I do wrong?” As the mother of a gay son, I didn’t ask myself that question, not really. At some level, I knew my son was gay from a very early age. I also knew that I didn’t make him that way. And yet, I didn’t want anyone suggesting that perhaps he was gay because his father was absent and I was a very strong personality. I knew that was all a stereotype and yet…
My son, age 20 months
It didn’t take me long to let that go. What I knew then (that was 24 years ago) as I know today is that I love my son. His being gay has nothing to do with that love. When I look back at the pictures of him as a child, an adolescent, young adult, who do I see? Do I see a gay person? No, I see the son I bore, the son I love, the amazing man he is. I’m grateful I have those photos that tell the story of his life and my love for him.
I love that Vicki’s father saw that gay marriage is inevitable and I love the analogy of what’s wrong with a mouse!
What feelings did the video evoke for you?
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