Kitchen Table Conversations

Hello LinkedIn! Welcome to my newsletter, Al Mejia Speaks.

My goal is to inspire you to open your life and heart to those who are different. Building bridges takes a lot more courage than building walls. Please accept my invitation to learn more @ "Alvaro Mejia Inclusiveness"

Yellow Flowers

I saw an arrangement of yellow flowers on a kitchen table. Yellow, the sign of sunshine, sunflowers, and canaries, is also the sign of caution, warning, and danger.

My life has swung between both sides of yellow. When I think of my children, I remember the joy of young smiles, laughter, and learning. And I think of my moments of dismay, unexpected hurt, bigotry.

When my son shared his homosexuality with me, I shifted from sunshine to danger. My emotions flashed red. Our kitchen table conversation should have been safe, filled with vulnerability and acceptance. It wasn’t. It took a long time for me to learn to accept him for who he was, not what I expected him to be. It was at the kitchen table that my world fell apart, and the kitchen table brought us back together.

We should all be mindful of our kitchen table conversations. In public spaces, we pretend to be what we think others expect of us. At home, however, our veil is lifted. Our mask is off. At the kitchen table, we must remember that everyone is vulnerable. That our words and actions matter most to those we love.

Let’s make kitchen table conversations heartfelt conversations, not hard conversations. Let’s make kitchen table conversations the most powerful conversations.

My story is painful but important. Today, I was able to share it with Fox News WICZ in Binghamton, NY.