Listen Up, World! Patti's Talking.

So last night I got excellent parenting advice from Johnny Weir's mom, Patti, in the lobby of the Columbus, Ohio Nationwide Arena (whose parking, by the way, is pathetic). That's Patti in the photo there. I didn't get a photo last night because I didn't want to harass the woman or cause a crowd to gather; she and Johnny's aunt Diane were walking around the lobby incognito, or as incognito as Johnny Weir's mom can be at a skating event starring him. Skate for Hope, to be exact, an annual charity skate to raise money for breast cancer research. Speaking of which, I saw a bumper sticker that said "Save the Ta-Tas." Now I want one that says "Save the Nads," for testicular cancer research. Am I digressing? Yes.

Back to the point. Here's the conversation we had:
Me: Patti, hi, excuse me! I just wanted to say congratulations for raising an excellent son! I hope I do as good a job when it's my time.
Patti: Aw, thank you! Well, it's all just letting them be who they are!
...and she gives me a big hug!...
Me and my husband: Yeah!
Patti: Let them dance to their own drum.
Me: Absolutely!
Patti: You'll get a lot of criticism for it, though, so be prepared!
Me and my husband: Okay!

That's clearly advice that everyone should follow, assuming they haven't birthed a budding Charles Manson for whom dancing to his own drum means torturing cats. But I'm digressing again. Imagine a world populated by people whose parents raised them like Johnny's did: letting him wear his hair long in grade school and ride a girly bike with tassels streaming from the handlebars because that's what he liked, getting him the lessons he needed to become a champion skater, and giving him such unwavering support that with total confidence he brushed off the teasing and quasi-bullying of the other boys (and some girls) in his class. That's the kind of parenting that gets you strong, unique, creative people. Of whom we need way more in this world.

This is very basic stuff, folks. If you want to make the world a better place, and you have kids, start with them. Don't raise them to be fearful or cynical conformists. We have way too many of those. Give us more people like this: