Three decades ago, I was conceived through the ingenuity of three trailblazing queers and an amazingly versatile invention known as a turkey baster. Turkey baster baby that I am, it’s only fitting that this Thanksgiving also happens to be my 30th birthday.
As I reflect on the first three decades of my life, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for my two moms and my dad, who conjured me out of the ether, immersed me in a community of forward thinkers, raised me with unconditional love, and supported my life’s journey at every turn.
I’m grateful that these three individuals managed to think outside the boxes built around them, overcoming assumptions that their sexual orientation was incompatible with their desire to parent, and inventing a successful system of child rearing that spanned three loving households (where there was no established model for them to follow).
I’m grateful that they, through their activism and insistence on recognition, have constantly pushed boundaries, opened countless minds and hearts, and exposed scores of queer would-be parents to new possibilities.
I’m also grateful for the community of queerspawn that I discovered through COLAGE. You inspire me and help me imagine a world, 30 more years into the future, where governments, cultural institutions, and society at large not only recognize and protect, but also encourage and uphold families like ours. I believe that this world is within our reach, and that we can help to manifest it though our collective activism and storytelling.
Finally, let me give thanks to the inventor of the turkey baster, whose name is lost to history but whose legacy is great: Your invention has brought Thanksgiving magic to millions of families — in more ways than one for this family.
Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!
-Darnell Snyder Witt
(son of Arvada Darnell, Steve Snyder, and Jeanette Witt)
We’re grateful for Darnell!
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Darnell, then.
Darnell, now!