I am in the LGBT community as are several of my children. I also belong to several groups mentoring parents who's children have recently come out of the closet. It is for myself as a parent and all of the confused parents I have mentored, that I painted this one.
Sometimes we have expectations of our children as they are growing up. Sometimes what they want for their lives and who they are as a person defies those expectations. As Maya Angelou said "when we know better, we do better." Here's what I know as a parent. It is my job first and foremost to love them unconditionally. Additionally, it is my job as a parent to teach them and guide them to make the right decisions and learn to get up when they fall down as well as guiding them to learn from their mistakes. It is NOT my job to tell them who to love or who to be. That's up to them. Again, it IS my job to love them unconditionally as they grow into the people they were meant to be.
I made a lot of mistakes as a parent. I used to beat myself up thinking about those mistakes but now I fall back to Maya Angelou's words and know that I am doing better with each mistake I make because I learn. This little baby dragon was born with all the colors of the rainbow showing their LGBT pride. The hatchling comes from a brown egg, symbolizing that sometimes LGBT children are born from CIS parents, sometimes defying the CIS parents' expectations of who that child will be when they grow up.
All of my paintings are painted with intention, pouring my heart, soul and magic into each piece. My intention for this one is that all children be accepted for who they are, exactly as they are.