So I have a grandparent show called Really I'm a Grandparent here on jail Jamdia.
It's out every Saturday, new episodes and the whole thing. And so
I was thinking, did I want to put this story on there? But
then I decided I want to put it on here because it's about being fifty
plus and the changing dynamics of how kids view sexuality. So I was like,
I was going back and forth. So I'm recording it for this,
but chat out my grandparent podcast, Really I Am a Grandparent on all streaming
services. I'm James id Jr. This is fifty plus. This is during
Pride Month. So I got a beautiful text from my grandchildren, my two
of my older grandchildren. It's got my one granddaughter, Scarlett and my grandson
Rylan, who are eighteen, well seventeen. I was eighteen and nineteen years
old. Gen Zers obviously grew up with uh kids who had same sex parents
and Sacramento things like that, and so, and they've known I was gay
this whole time. They've never always, never had a I I never made
a big deal about it. It was it was not really am a name,
major discussion. We talked about it recently on our last trip I was
up there. We kind of talked about it a little bit, but they
have gay folks in their lives and just it's just it just there's there.
But I'm just I've been there. I was always. I was always their
grandfather first. That's something that's just been very important to me. Everything else
is secondary, you know, so to speak, or a third or whatever.
And they sent me a message a text saying that you know, heavy
pride month, Papa Jamie, we love you. And I did not expect
that whatsoever, and it really touched my heart, and I mean I got
cried a little bit, just thought this was very cool. And I remember
by the time, I I appreciate that so much. Thank you for accepting
me. I love being a grandfather. You know, I love you both
and everything, and we love you, right you, Jester. My daughter
did a great job raising them. But I know there's been my dissension with
when it comes to lgbt O all your stuff and children. And I always
say, you know, I raised my daughters. There are two heterosexual women
in successful relationships, long terms as relationships, and I've raising my grandchildren and
everything so far. But it's fine. I mean they accept me. They've
always accepted people in their lives. I raised my children with the village of
people of all types in their lives and there's fine. I mean, the
only things happened to them. And then going crazy, I know this whole
there's this whole thing, and I want to get you political on here,
but I noticed a whole thing about you know that that should kid should not
know anything about gay stuff period, because that's the thing about the whole sexuality
thing, and how are you fall on it? Is fine for me.
I'm at that generation where I didn't do anything sexual in front of my kid's
period. Whether I was with women or men or whatever, I just never
did. And that was never that was never part of the conversation. It
was never they knew I was gay, meaning and see, for me,
being gay was more than just my sexuality. It was more of that I
just attracted the same sex. But that's something totally. It's a whole separate
thing. And you know, I'm your grandfather first or your father first either.
When I was just it was more about trying to raise them period in
life. But I sneeze you guys, I'm so sorry. I think it's
come out. But I just exposed them to music by gay artists, books
by gay artists, movies by gay artists that were that were appropriate, age
appropriate. Yes, sneeze, it won't come out. I hadn't recorded all
day and now I got sneeze. Excuse me, folks, I'm so sorry.
I couldn't I think stop it. That it was more than it's just
that, you know, I was it was told age appropriately, just that
I like certain I like this. That's all it means, you know,
it's all about love and light and and but that was even a major conversation.
Was just like, get to know people as people, and a lot
of gay people that I know are just as boring and regular and ordinary as
straight people. Like there's no there's nothing, a lot of things that a
lot of the things that I like have nothing to do with my b blackness
or nothing to do with my business. Or it's like I like certain movies
and certain shows, and I just I felt like, but it showed them
though, is that it's just a normalized thing, nothing crazy. Because I
grew up with crazy straight parents. I grew up in a society where they
were doing all kinds of stuff. I should have seen. They were doing
sexual stuff that I shouldn't have seen. I was exposed at things way too
early, you know, that kind of stuff. So that was and that
was my generation. That was baby boomers right for me. So like it's
I mean, I just I'm just kind of amazed at this point now with
them, I've always just been their grandfather. We had to talk recently about
it, but growing up, we don't have to talk about it. We
never talked about it. Not really. They knew my they knew my my
partners, but it was more it was more of I am the fun grandfather.
It was just fun and this happened to be my partner. But other
than that, I'm your grandfather first, and let's just focus on me helping
you with your school stuff, or playing with you guys or whatever, to
your sporting events. There's it's like there's just so much when you're when kids
are in your life, when you're raising them or you're a grandparents, it's
just you're not even I mean literally, you're just like you're focused on what
they're well being. Is they do they need to eat? Are they hungry?
Are they thirsty? Have to go to the bathroom? You know,
can entertained like you're not even thinking about anything else. That's what's so funny
about this whole bit, Like I never thought about that, But it's times
are times. We're had a weird time period where a lot has changed,
I feel for the better, but now we're starting to have marginalized groups again,
and that's the part that's hard. And and for them, they also
have a very black grandfather who's also very kind of militantly black on some level,
and I've root for black people and black folks and and I you know,
I do shows on TV about black artists and stuff. So but again
I'm their grandfather first, that's my whole thing. And then then I teach
them some of the ancestry, We talk about some of the family stuff and
go from there. So it's just it's it's funny how that's I never thought
a million years. I mean, when I thought when I had my got
grandkids, I hadn't thought to throw on that either. But the fact that
they're old enough that we can actually now talk about any kind of subject they
want to talk about because they're literally adults, so which is very interesting.
It was very touching. And again, people have their own thoughts about this,
and that's fine. But my kids and grandkids are relatively well adjusted and
they're fine, and it's and again, a lot of my home life was
boring, boring as fuck, nothing exciting, nothing, no, nothing.
I didn't take them nowhere. Are crazy, We didn't do anything. We
were so busy just raising them to be adults that can be worthy in society
all. I think most socials are that way. I'm James Thought junior,
and this is fifty plus. I'll taught to you next time.