The Bees and The Birds: LGBTQ+ Version

The Start

CONGRATULATIONS! Your kid and/or someone close to you came out! But where should I start? You probably have a lot of questions about them coming out, and it's ok. They are very nervous too of telling you, so be happy and proud they can trust you with this awesome step in life! Hopefully you are sitting down cause we got a lot to talk about!

How to wrap your brain about it?
You got the news of someone your close to, or even your kiddo "Came out the closest". So how can I say "I'm happy for you!" without seeming your negative about it? Well the first step is NOT say "But how would you do that to us?" "Oh...ok...uuummm...yay?" It just make them very weirded out. Just think of their coming out celebration, we'll like a celebration! They came to you in trust and support, not a big list of "Negative Nancys" or "God's Word say..." they are people not pets or aliens! Celebrate their challenges of coming out, it takes a lot to even get up the courage in first place. They just want you to love them who they are, and who they are becoming. Throw a party, celebrate the new person that accepts who they are, go ahead and be proud of them. They did it! They are still going to be your best friend, kiddo, or even someone close to you. They just different and that's a good thing, if they where the same it will be boring.

Where to start?

When they tell you "Hey, I'm LGBTQ+..." reply after they speak what's on their mind, in a positive note "That's awesome! I'm still happy and proud of you no matter what." You can give them a hug or even a big celebration type of excitement. Don't be surprised if they say "Your not mad at me?" or even "Wait... I'm confused, why aren't you..." because remember... IT'S LIKE A BATTLE FEILD IN THEIR BRAIN. They are replying every WORST possible experience as possible, to duck and weave every negative hate comments, weird feeling moments, and more. To them it's "Life or Death..." "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!" type of negative thoughts, so to show them your not mad or not even disappointed in them it will ease their mind a lot. DO NOT..... I REPEAT DO NOT START WITH.... "Ok, so? How am I supposed to know." That's a big "OH HECK NAH!" slap to the positive vibes and they think it was stupid to even come out to you! It's like asking your crush on a date, and got rejected! Coming out takes a lot of time and energy, just like asking that crush.

Let's celebrate!

Well how do we celebrate? Depends on how they came out, what group they support, and how you want to support them threw their "New Self Journey!" Let's talk about what each group is and then you can look up the colors for it!

L is for Lesbian!
It's when a female loves another female, and it can be a lot of reasons why. But you shouldn't love your friend, kiddo, or anyone who came out as loving another female.

G is for Gay!
Now this one is the same thing as Lesbian but with men, and also in the old dictionary for "Being extremely happy." So don't worry if you say someone is gay, or you get told your gay. Just politely reply "Thanks I am super happy!" And walk away... but really it's not something to be ashamed about.

B is for Bi-sexual!
This is where I jump in, the writer! We love both genders, but we like one side of the scoop then the other. For example I love both genders, but I get a long with females more then males. And it's totally fine, we just like to have the pie and the whip topping to go with it!

T is for Transgender!
My grandkid is this one, and I'm super proud of her. It's basically a female wants to be a male, and reverse for male who wants to be female. Other letters are more complicated but very important, we are just covering the basics and if you are curious about any other groups. It's a good thing to talk with that person or kiddo of what it is, don't be afraid to ask questions. They will most definitely be happy you asked, and they can give you more information.

Q is for Queer or Questioning!
Now I did have to quickly look this up, because not a lot of people come out as this group because of the negative out comes. But this one is basically they aren't in one group, but finding themselves without putting a label on it. Give it time, and keep an open heart and mind. They might be going threw a lot, questioning themselves of where they truly belong. Give them positive vibes and they will give you the answer in time, just as coming out of one group this one will be more of a roller coaster of emotions. Keep cheering them on, and expect a LOT of mind changes when they try to find themselves.

Now we know the basic letters, and trust me there is a lot of them. This will be a good start of the journey not only for you, but also the one you love. It's just the tip of the iceberg, you can be supportive and avoid any negative out comes or you can sink the Titanic to crush your love ones. Choose wisely, and that's what the next chapters are going to teach you. The support you can give, what to say in a positive way, what to do about hateful moments, and more!