A transgender waitress posted the story of what she called a "stellar parenting moment" to Facebook, and the Internet is loving the tale.
With almost 3k "likes" since she posted it late Sunday afternoon, Liv Hnilicka, who is from Minneapolis according to her Facebook page, decided to make the post public so people would share it.
"Way to go, mom and dads out there making space for transfolks/gnc people like me," she wrote.
The post was sparked by a little girl's seemingly simple question. She asked her dad whether Hnilicka was a boy or a girl.
Hnilicka admitted she was "nervous" about answering the little girl's question, but her explanation seemed to make perfect sense to the tot.
Mom's Unsentimental Back-to-School Photo Goes Viral Taking the 'Me, Me, Me' Attitude Out of Your KidsHere's the full text of Hnilicka's post.
"Stellar parenting moment of the day:
This afternoon I was at my waitressing job on a beautiful early fall afternoon. Two parents and their young daughter came in; the tall burly dad adorably scratching his back on the door as they walked in. As I was filling the water station, he came up to me and said, "My daughter just asked if you were a boy or a girl. I didn't want to speak for you so would you like to talk to her?" I nervously said yes and walked to their table. "Hi, I like your hair ribbon," I said. "I heard you asked if I was a boy or girl. I think the important thing to remember is that everyone can be anything they want to be in this world. And it's also important to try to be the best selves we can be for our family and friends. And even to strangers. So to answer your question, I was told that I was a boy when I was little and now I live my adult life as a girl. It sounds complicated but it's actually pretty simple. Do you have any questions for me?" She looked at me smiling and simply said, 'Nope!'
I walked away from the table feeling really good about parents intentionally engaging their children about possibly difficult topics. And showing that giving people the power to voice their truths in this complicated world is beautiful and healing.
Way to go, mom and dads out there making space for transfolks/gnc people like me.
(Also I made this post public in case you want to share it with parents you may know.)"
Hnilicka told ABC News that the feedback so far has been "really positive. The response from parents has been something that excites me."
But there's something she didn't put in her post that she does want to share.
"I do want to say in the wake of this viral post that I don't think it's a good idea to ask every person you interact with in your life to explain themselves but if you're wondering how someone identifies themselves to say, 'I use she/her pronouns (or whatever pronouns you prefer), what pronouns do you use?"' It's a good benchmark of honoring someones identity."