In Bloom

II. OATH

I HAD an interesting conversation last night. I stayed up late talking to a good friend. We talked about life, and the uncertainty of our futures, and about how good it would feel to be young forever. We also talked about you; or at least, how we would raise our kids when we become adults.

"There's this guy I know who's afraid of having kids," my friend told me. "He's scared that they'll turn out messed up."

My brows scrunched together. "Messed up?"

"Yeah, like his kids will have downs or something."

I looked up, fury and disbelief warring inside me. I couldn't believe that someone my age could be so ignorant, so blatantly wrong. "And you?" I asked. "Do you feel the same?"

My friend paused. For a second, I was terrified. What if my friend wasn't the person I thought he was? What if he was just as ignorant as this guy he knew? Then, he answered: "No, I'm not afraid. I know that it would be hard. But... that's my kid, and if he has a disability, then so what? I wouldn't let that define my child."

I breathed out in relief. I said to my friend honestly, "I feel like if you aren't ready to accept your kid, no matter who or what they are, then you shouldn't become a parent. Plain and simple."

"Yeah, I agree." He grinned. "Besides, everyone is a little messed up, right?"

Lying in bed later that night, I thought of you and your future. I don't ever want to be the reason why you can't fall asleep at night. I don't ever want to hurt you, or leave you, or make you feel like a burden to me.

I want you to know that I chose this life. That I chose you, and there is nothing that you could do to make me stop loving you.

If you love boys, girls, both, or neither- it doesn't matter.

If you were born in the wrong body, or the wrong gender, then I will stand beside you as you find yourself.

If you were born at a disadvantage to all the other children, then I will stop at nothing to make you see that you are more than enough. That you have worth, that there is something beautiful inside of you that the other children don't have.

Here is my oath: I will always love you.

___

A/N: This was actually a real conversation I had with one of my closest friends. It's horrific that ableism is still so blatant, especially in my generation, where so many people claim to be 'woke' . Nevertheless, I'm glad that we had that talk. It definitely helped me reinforce my views.