msbelle- I had a traumatic family tree experience when I was little, too, and I am OK. But they seriously should be avoided. I am so glad they "let" you diagram all his mommies. Our project was to draw ourselves and our families in houses that the teacher cut out of construction paper. Mom and Dad went in the door, and the students and our siblings went in the windows. I was an only child who lived with my mom, her parents, my uncle, and a dog, and the teacher wouldn't let me draw anyone except my mom and I. I was upset enough that I lost all the crayons except the purple one, and had to draw my mom and I in purple. I hated that sad lonely house that wasn't my house at all. That was one of the first times I felt like my family wasn't right because I didn't have a dad. I think nowadays, it is so much more accepted, and that is great!

Also, telling that story just made me realize that one of the reasons why I feel so strongly about allowing gay marriage, and gay families is because I so strongly remember dealing with people for whom it just did not compute that "family" wasn't always mom + dad + children.

Kathy, that video was cool!

I want to thwap your teacher from the future, Sophia.

At first I thought this thing was made-up: Piglet Squid is Cute

Scientists at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium found a cute deep-water squid that looks like a fat little cartoon piggie:

Piglet Squid, Helicocranchia pfefferi: This funny looking squid is about the size of a small avocado and can be found most commonly in the deepwater (greater than 100 m or 320 ft) of virtually all oceans. Its habit of filling up with water and the funny location of its siphone with a wild-looking 'tuft' of eight arms and two tentacles had prompted scientists to name it the piglet squid.

Sophia, you're younger than I am, and I know that divorce was a common-enough issue for teachers when I was in junior high in the late '70s, so I don't know why she was so stubborn about your family!! Grrr.

IOcutevideoN, climbing kittens who love to play with toilet paper. They're the same kittens who love to run under doors.

I hated that sad lonely house that wasn't my house at all. That was one of the first times I felt like my family wasn't right because I didn't have a dad.

Aw.

We never did anything like that in my school, but you know, I'm sure grandparents would have been included because so many of us lived in two-family houses with our grandparents! And there were at least a couple of kids in my class who didn't live with their fathers, so.

Kathy and Jesse and sarameg-- I had the misfortune, all through primary school, of having teachers that retired the year after I had them. That would have been in 1978, and the teacher was at least 60, if not older. I also lived in a really small town, and my one friend that I knew by 3rd grade who had parents who were divorced had a remarried mother. It got better later-- that mom got redivorced, but still, until high school, she and I were the only ones with weird families who were also poor.

My family tree was always broken on my dad's side. His parents never married and he has tons of half-siblings and no full. Not only did I not understand the intricacies, I couldn't get reliable details from either parent, and I really didn't like bringing it up at my hoity-toity English school.

That's nuts. My grammar school classes were pretty non-diverse, but there were always at least a couple of kids out of the norm in one way or another. Like how there were two kids in my 6th grade class who didn't have to use Christmas tree colors to paint the triangular napkin holders we were making....

Can I just say that I adore my DH? He was off today and took care of the dry cleaning and the grocery shopping so I wouldn't have to. While at Publix he found the mini chocolate eclairs that I absolutely adore and greeted me when I got home with a glass of wine and chocolate eclairs. I think I'll keep him for a few more years.