I’d like to say something 

that almost every parent needs to hear:

Mistakes don’t make you a bad parent. 

They make you a human one.

If learning a new language, 

new skills, 

and new ways to support our kids 

didn’t come with a learning curve, 

we wouldn’t be doing anything new.

And when you’re navigating identity, 

safety, 

neurodiversity, 

and emotional regulation, 

of course mistakes are part of the process.

The goal was never to get everything right.

The goal is repair.

Life may not come with an undo button, 

but it does allow for do-overs.

Because kids don’t need perfect parents. 

They need adults 

who are willing to come back and say:

“I missed that.”

“I got that wrong.”

“I’m learning.”

“I’m sorry.”

(Yes. 

Even when your inner Gen X voice is screaming, 

“Do NOT admit fault.”)

These words do something powerful.

They tell your child:

You are safe with me.

Your feelings matter to me.

Our relationship is more important than my ego.

And that is HUGE.

We’ve been talking a lot lately 

about being awkward and 

falling forward, meaning:

We expect mistakes.

We learn from them.

And we choose relationship over pride.

Every. Time. 

Which might look like:

Mispronouncing a name or pronoun 

and correcting yourself without defensiveness.

No speech. No excuses. 

Just a course correct and moving on.

It can also look like overreacting 

in a hard moment, 

then apologizing and reconnecting later.

Because parenting at a constant level 10 is rarely helpful.

And, it can look like 

not understanding right away, 

but staying curious anyway.

Curiosity can beat certainty a lot of the time.

For LGBTQ kids, repair matters even more.

Because so many queer kids 

grow up feeling like 

they’re one mistake away 

from losing everything:

the love of their parents,

the safety of their home,

the sense that they belong anywhere at all.

That’s a LOT for a kid to carry.

So when we come back with:

“I got that wrong.”

“I’m learning.”

“I’m here.”

We aren’t just fixing the moment. 

We’re teaching our kids 

that love doesn’t disappear 

when things get hard.

Because repair doesn’t erase mistakes, 

it heals them. 

And healing lasts longer than “being right.”

And personally, 

in my house, 

we say something that keeps all of this in balance:

“It’s okay to be wrong, 

but it’s not okay to STAY wrong.”

Trying matters.

Learning matters.

Changing your behavior matters.

So if you’ve ever worried:

“OMG! I messed that up… 

I’m probably doing more harm than good.”

Let me reassure you:

If you’re willing to repair and grow, 

you’re already doing something right. 

More than you realize.

Because love isn’t proven by perfection, 

it’s proven by coming back 

and choosing to grow.

That’s all for now. 

And don’t forget to take good care of yourself today.