Happy feet

My partner took this picture of my left foot next to my son’s. He has my feet. They are little carbon copies of every bloat and bulge in my toes. Even though I have never had much time for my feet, I love that he has these copies. Looking at his feet is a tugging reminder that we are connected.

But this quality of sameness and looking alike is complex in my family. My son and I look alike because of shared genes. Funnily enough, my son also looks like my partner. This is despite the fact that they do not share genes. Although sometimes I think he looks like her because they do not share genes.

My skin is a pale shade of freckly Irish white. My eyes are green and my hair is brown. My partner is not white. Her skin is dark and her hair is thick and black. When we decided to have children we deliberately sought a donor/father who was of the same racial and ethnic background as my partner.

Growing old with style ... and care

Most talk about families on this blog is focused on kids. But of course family also includes older people – our own parents and grandparents, not to mention ourselves as we grow older. The University of Queensland has embarked on a study of older lesbian and gay people’s care networks and they are currently looking for people aged 60 years or more who would be interested in being interviewed. I have pasted some more info below:


A new study, funded by the University of Queensland, is looking at the ways paid and unpaid carers come together to provide support to older lesbian and gay people.