Pride

 

I bought these shoes yesterday.

Adidas ‘Boost Pride’.

I’m not all that comfortable in them just yet.  They fit fine, they just aren’t my typical ‘fit’.

If I saw someone else wearing these shoes, my internal dialogue has tended to default to:

“I wonder if they’re gay.”

“They’re probably making a statement.”

Or, “good on them for putting themselves out there, but you wouldn’t find me wearing those.”

I’m smart enough not to let my mind stay there, but that’s where my hard-wiring runs.

Spending time with my son in Melbourne just recently exposed some of my default dialogue — and I didn’t like it.  

I love Jackson.  I want him to be confident that he is accepted for who he is as my son.  I recognise the tension of how his presentation and expression is received in the circles I move.  

This last week has shown me more of what it’s like to walk in his shoes.

I want to know more about that.  

So I’m wearing pride shoes — perhaps my internal dialogue can be challenged and changed.