Upset your son’s friend has 2 dads?

DEAR NATALIE: My son is 7 years old and has become very close with a little girl in his class. I have had her over for play dates, but I had only met her father, who seemed like a very nice man. When I asked to meet my son’s friend’s mother, however, the man chuckled a little uncomfortably and stated that his “life partner” was a man. They have been together for 17 years and were recently married.

He wants to invite my husband and me over for dinner, and I am incredibly uncomfortable with this. My husband doesn’t see what the big deal is, but I don’t want to have dinner with them. How do I politely say no? — KEEP YOURSELF

DEAR KEEP IT TO YOURSELF: I find it interesting that you seemed to like this man until you realized that he was gay. Instead of jumping to judgments about him and his husband, why not open yourself to the idea of becoming friends? Your children already like playing together, and if your husband is OK with this, why can’t you be?

Letting go of prejudice and bigotry will open the space inside your heart for IT TO friendship. While we don’t have to agree on everything, we can always choose to be compassionate and respectful of one another. Getting to know them in their home may just show you how much you actually do have in common and could soften the edges around this issue for you. At least give it a try. You have nothing to lose except those negative feelings holding you back from making some new friends.

Natalie’s Networking Tip of the Week: Let people know the best way to reach out to you. Some people prefer texting while others like email. Some reach out on Facebook Messenger Sometimes we can miss important connections because we didn’t realize someone had a preferred way to communicate. I prefer email, and when people reach out to me in other ways, I always redirect them to my email address. That way, I’m sure to stay in touch and on top of everything in a way that makes sense to me. If you’re not organized, you can’t network efficiently!