Counterpoint

After reading a recent commentary by Riley Balling ("Why same-sex marriage effects my marriage," Sept. 28), I want to add my own small bit of wisdom. As a child raised in one of these "nontraditional," "gay" marriages, I feel like I am in an excellent position to clarify exactly what type of person such an unsafe environment can produce.

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A brief synopsis of life surrounded by lesbians:


At an early age, as the daughter of two Minneapolis mommies, I found myself enrolled in Montessori preschool learning to read, finger-paint and share with my friends. I was always an outgoing little lady who loved nothing more than to make mud soup in the back yard and ride my bike to the yellow house three-quarters of the way down the block.

See, my lesbian parents in their self-fulfilling marriage wouldn't let me ride all the way down to the end of the block, because they wanted to be able to keep an eye on me. Super unsafe, right? They did bend their rules a bit and allow me to watch one hour of educational/PBS television a day, but what are working parents to do?

Fast-forward a bit through Seward Elementary and Middle Schools and South High School -- where I participated in theater productions, played sports, sang in choir, worked as a nanny and a barista and a waitress, maintained excellent grades, was awarded National Merit and Theatre Arts scholarships -- and through college in Seattle. Phew! I mean, how did I have the time to be indoctrinated with the homosexual agenda and accomplish all of that?

At 27, I finally feel like I can really reflect on how having same-sex parents has affected my life. I've had a busy past couple of years -- moving to Boston, completing my master's degree in elementary and special education, getting married, and adopting a kitty. I know you're probably wondering if I married a man or a woman. Well, now that I live in Massachusetts, anything is possible, and since I think the gender of my spouse is just about as relevant to the story as the gender of my cat, I think I'll let you ponder it for a while. The most important thing is that every day I thank my lucky stars that I was able to overcome my poor gay parenting and be so happy and successful.

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All sarcasm aside, I had a remarkably traditional upbringing filled with school, friends, extracurricular activities and family dinners. I was raised to believe in the importance and enduring strength of family and the love that creates a family. I firmly believe that I was able to find love because I had such an amazing example of what true love means -- not perfection, but a dedication to working through things and supporting one another no matter what.

In my family, I found an example of the kind of person I wanted to be and the values that I want to pass on to my children someday. Both of my moms -- individually, and together through their relationship -- have made central to their lives the work of creating a better future for their children and all children.

Through their jobs and in their personal lives, they have dedicated themselves to bettering the world through education, fostering meaningful relationships with people in their community, and raising two children to know the value of hard work, doing something meaningful to make a difference in the world, and fighting for justice and the rights of all people.

Two moms, one daughter, one son, a dog, a cat and a white (OK, brown) picket fence. This is my family, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

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Sarah Ann Baillie lives in Boston. For more marriage amendment commentaries, go here.