And 5 Other Ways To Support The Folx You Love Recently, a family member I had not seen for a while casually asked me how “my girls” were doing. She meant well by the inquiry, I am sure. She probably did not realize her faux-pas, at least not at first. In the past, I usually... Continue Reading →
All are welcome at Catalyst Cafe in Everett
Turn off the busy arterial of Colby Ave in Everett, and amidst the quiet side street neighborhood on 23rd sits Catalyst Cafe, an all-inclusive local gathering space creating meaningful change in Snohomish County. At first glance, it looks like any other neighborhood coffee house with a warm, inviting and welcoming vibe. Catalyst Cafe is all this... Continue Reading →
When Unconditional Love Becomes the Groundwork for an Authentic Life
MaryRose Denton・June 2, 2021 Becoming a parent for the first time filled me with a jumbled array of emotions—excitement, awe, and even a little worry. Would I do this right? Holding my newborn baby and looking into those deep, dark eyes, I simply fell in love. Everything else fell away. Love became the groundwork in which... Continue Reading →
How a Family Bed Builds Strong Relationships
Or how giving our kids a soft place to land also gives us a chance to listen. Walking through our small town, I stop in a local thrift store just to browse around, killing time. I push open the front door to be met with that familiar, old musty smell of well-worn objects and old books.... Continue Reading →
Listening is Step Two When Advocating for Your Transgender Kid
It comes right after, I love you just the way you are. Ask me any question you need to mum, says Jace. He steps out into the busy crosswalk. It is already flashing its warning before it turns red. 9 seconds, 8, 7, 6… My hurried steps try to catch up with his. I do have... Continue Reading →
A Book Review: Found In Transition
A mother’s evolution during her child’s gender change Several weeks ago a public relations co-ordinator from New World Library contacted me through my publication, The Rainbow Affect, on Medium. In her email to me, she asked if I would kindly review a new book about to be released. She explained it is a story of a... Continue Reading →
A Mother First and Gay Rights Activist Second
The story of Jeanne Manford and the baton she passed to me. I sit at the far end of the semi-circle of tables and chairs. We are gathered in a small meeting room at the back of a pizzeria. The room doubles as a space for both group gatherings and birthday party bashes. As I... Continue Reading →
The Day I Picked up His Banner and Walked With Him
The beginning of one mother’s journey as her son came out as transgender. My son is twenty-three this year. Five years ago, at the age of seventeen, he came out as transgender. It was on a rainy, Northwest day my teenage child, then known as my oldest daughter, drove off in the old Toyota. A... Continue Reading →
Six Degrees From the Stonewall Riots
A look back at the inception of PRIDE to see the way forward Right now, most of us concur we are living through times of uncertainty and civil unrest. A global pandemic with a rising death toll, riots, demonstrations, police brutality, the sinking economy, and the list goes on. But it’s not the first time... Continue Reading →