“Sometimes bullies do win. But that doesn’t mean we give up."

How Does A Gay Dad Talk To His Kid About The Election?

I remember excitedly telling my son on the morning of his third birthday that his Papa and I could finally get married in our home state.

Less than three years later, we took an impromptu field trip to the Supreme Court, where I explained that daddies and papas (and mommies and mamas) all over the country could now marry.

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I’ve told him how special it is that he was born under our first black president—and that the next one might be the first woman. Recounting these experiences, I wrote, “Hope for the future, restored.”

But now I have no words—my excitement is quelled; my hope, diminished.

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This morning—just one day into his seventh year—my son asked who won the election. I told him that Donald Trump had won; his face fell and he leaned against me for a hug.

“That makes me so sad.”

“It make me sad, too,” I replied, as I hugged him a little tighter.

“But there are still good people in charge who will make sure Trump does the right thing,” I assured him, only half believing it myself.

Half is better than nothing, right?

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On the ride to school, our son’s concerns became more specific: He worried that his babysitter would be sent back to Guatemala, or that our rights as a two-dad family would be taken away.

My husband took this one.

“Sometimes bullies do win,” he explained. “But that doesn’t mean we give up. The worst thing to do is to give in to bullies.”

Other conversations had us fielding questions about whether Donald Trump would put Hillary in jail; or if he would send Papa to Italy, breaking up our family.

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I foresee still more difficult questions and conversations in our—and our nation’s—immediate future. So here are a few more nuggets of wisdom from Dad:

* Continue to be a good person. Love people. Be polite and respectful.

* Be a good listener. Just because someone is the loudest doesn’t mean that they’re right.

* While heroes like Wonder Woman and Captain America always do what’s right and defeat the bad guys, real people make mistakes and the good guys don’t always win. Put your trust in the people that love you. They will always try their hardest to do what’s best for you. They will always be your family. Nothing will ever change that.

* The great thing about this country is that there’s another election in four years.

* And to quote Hillary’s concession speech, “Fighting for what’s right is worth it.”