"Justin and Jonathan"
After my website started gaining some popularity and getting noticed by a lot of people, but before Jonathan passed away, I was very private about myself and my personal life. I was very reluctant to mention anything about myself. With Jonathan gone, I have re-thought my position on that. Although I do not want my life to be an open book for everyone, I am going to share what I think is appropriate and might be of some interest or help to others.
Most people did not know I had a son (Jonathan) and are even more confused when my other son (Justin) is mentioned. I have been asked about Justin a lot.
Justin has been part of my life since he was 3 years old. He was someone that Jonathan always looked up to. Justin was 5 when Jonathan was born.
Long after Justin was grown up, off living in Florida, I was talking to an elderly gentleman in Oklahoma. He asked me how many kids I had. I told him I had a son and a step-son. Straight up, he said "Either he is your son or he is not your son, which is it?" This old man explained to me that it does a child a lot of mental harm, demeans there self-worth, and makes them think that they are less than the other kids that you may have some biological participation in creating. He didn't like words like "step-son, half-brother, step-dad, etc." After giving what he said some thought, I don't like them, either. They serve no useful purpose.
I can't remember Justin or Jonathan ever referring to the other as their half-brother. It made me feel bad and very stupid for all the hundreds of times I introduced Justin as my step-son, especially when (to this day) he always refers to me as "Dad." Maybe some of you other parents (and future parents) that read this will learn from my ignorance.
