Almost everyone I know has at least one alcoholic in their family. Ours is no exception. A realistic depiction of our family tree would have some wine, beer and whiskey bottles hanging from it. Mostly my children are shielded from the reality of our alcoholic bloodline. Perhaps my older two have commented that Cousin James is obnoxious or Uncle Burt is odd, but they seem no different from the other family members that congregate on major holidays. Everyone is weird when you’re a teenager.

When I was young I had paper dolls. I punched out perforated girls and put them on stands. They sported outfits held up by square tabs. My daughters have an online game called Princess Maker on Doll Divine. They can select a virtual model and then choose skin color, hair, boots, clothing and accessories to dress her up.

Attending a performing arts middle school gives my daughter opportunities to explore characters both like and unlike herself. The past school year found her in not one, but two Peanuts productions. Playing Peppermint Patty and the Little Red-haired Girl presented different takes on what it means to be female.

It was a last-minute decision to cut out the full-color photos of Lennart Nilson’s beautiful book, A Child is Born, and slip them into page protectors for my Sunday morning class. Dismembering a bound book felt uncomfortable, and this particular one had sentimental value. I’d purchased it in 2004 for my older children to help prepare them for the home birth of their sister, Ahna.

As I set up for our kindergarteners’ and first graders’ OWL class, several books are showcased on a side table. One is titled, One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads by Johnny Valentine.

A mother signing in her son in motions me outside, “Are you going to be reading that book about dads?” she asks.

“Not the whole thing, but I will be using it to show examples of families led by two dads. Today’s topic is all kinds of families,” I explain.

“That’s fine. I just want you to know that Henry lost his dad last year. He probably won’t say anything; he rarely does, but I thought that was important for you to know.”

2011 marks the 15th annual day of silence on April 15th. The website asks, “What are you going to do to end the silence?” On tax day, thousands of students will be silent to bring attention to anti LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender) name-calling, bullying, and harassment in schools.