Following are highlights (lowlights not included!) from our months on Instagram. Click here for all of the months’ pictures, thoughts and happenings. If you’re on Instagram, follow me. If you already follow me, thanks!

C.J. leaves this message wherever he can. Here, he wrote it in chalk on the floor of a busy restaurant that encourages patrons of all ages to draw on the floor. Every time he leaves his “be yourself” message out in public, part of me thinks that someone who needs the message will happen upon it after we leave. But, most of all, I hope that C.J. always feels pride when it comes to the things that make him different and that he’ll always feel brave enough to be himself.

With no summer camp this week, my son has spent a lot of time drawing his favorite superheroes.

Serving everyone the “Pride Eye.” According to C.J., his “Pride Eye” look is inspired by the colors he saw at Pride this year, cotton candy, unicorns, love and happiness.

Sometimes, to celebrate the end of a rough week, you find the closest Pride, buy two train tickets, travel two hours and then…you march.

“What should I do now?,” C.J. asks at least once a day because he knows if he tells me he’s bored I’ll tell him only boring people can be bored. “Why don’t you sew something? The machine is out,” I said the other day. At age 10, he knows his way around the machine just as well as I do. He made this skirt in an afternoon.

This week C.J. added contortionist to the list of things he wants to be when he grows up. We encourage and empower young girls. We tell them they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up. Make sure we do the same for boys. C.J.’s list of future professions includes: artist, makeup artist, drag queen, Olympic gymnast, hair stylist, contortionist, RuPaul’s Drag Race judge, AGT judge, Cupcake Wars judge.

It’s C.J.’s last day of sewing camp. He made lots of friends and lots of drag queens. Here’s his felt Sasha Velour. The employees at our local Joann’s Store were so supportive and encouraging of C.J. – who was the only boy enrolled in sewing camp. They told him that they see a future for him on Project Runway. They were even more complimentary of Matt, who took C.J. into the store an hour before each day of camp to pick out new fabric, notions and patterns. “It’s so great to see a dad in here buying fabric for his son and encouraging him to sew. A lot of dads wouldn’t do that,” they said to Matt. They’re right and I’m glad they gave Matt the kudos he deserves. He’s the best dad. (But, this also got me thinking, how come I’ve been celebrated for taking Chase shopping at a sporting goods store?)

I spoke at Aetna today about raising a gender creative child. The Q&A session that followed was the most emotional I’ve experienced in a while. It was a reminder that you never know what the other people in the room or your co-workers are going through. Be nice to people, listen and practice empathy.

This week C.J. is the only boy at sewing camp. He’s also the only one who made a Violet Chachki hand puppet.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon speaking at the Orange County Bar Association about raising a gender creative child and provided thoughts and guidance for interacting with children of all gender identities and expressions. What a great group of caring and inquisitive people!

C.J.’s perfect summer day includes having his three best girl friends over to jump on the trampoline, swim and do makeup. “Let me show you a trick I learned from drag queens,” I heard him say several times during their makeup session.

I was cooking dinner and noticed I was all alone downstairs and the house had grown very quiet. Then, Matt texted me this pic from upstairs. C.J. had been doing makeup all weekend. Just when he thought he was running out of willing faces, he asked Matt. And, Matt said yes. Like he always does.

And, yes, I absolutely did immediately come to the defense of women everywhere and make it very clear that women are strong and fierce protectors. It didn’t matter. He still wants a husband instead of a wife.

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