This is great. No matter how old I get and how much time has passed, coming out stories always conjure up the anxiety of that moment for me. And I always really like the happy ones. My parents were more interested in talking about the Korean BBQ menu than my orientation when I told them. They’d known forever, but KBBQ was totally new 🤣
It was a birthday dinner. I left it very late (many years too late), primarily out of laziness and procrastination. I wasn’t worried about my parents not accepting me at that point (my dad was good friends with James Baldwin, which I didn’t understand the significance of until years later). I was more ashamed of how long I waited. But that still didn’t make it that much easier to get the words out for some reason. One thing that doesn’t really get talked about that much (that was true for me at least) is that coming out isn’t really something you do once and get it over with, especially for those that would be considered “straight-acting”. I pretty much have to come out to every person I meet for the rest of my life. As I get older, it’s not a big deal at all anymore. I throw in a subtle comment here or there. But it’s almost always still a conscious decision to do so, or not to. I still occasionally refrain from revealing it to certain people, like clients that seem like they would be put off by it. Anyway, I really wasn’t intending to make this about me, lol. I really enjoyed the story, and really like that it was told from the parent’s perspective. I guess this really isn’t a coming out story at all, rather a story of an estranged parent getting to reconnect with their child.
enjoyed this -
Thanks. I was happy with the outcome after pausing for a few stress Magnum bars
“….and he was right.” Very happy for these two right now. Thanks.
I like busting out the happy ones. Scary when I hit " publish" on the darker ones.
One of your best.
I reread it based on your comment. Glad you think it's a winner. I'm pretty happy with it.
This is great. No matter how old I get and how much time has passed, coming out stories always conjure up the anxiety of that moment for me. And I always really like the happy ones. My parents were more interested in talking about the Korean BBQ menu than my orientation when I told them. They’d known forever, but KBBQ was totally new 🤣
I can't imagine the anxiety of that moment. Did you pick a public restaurant on purpose or was it just coincidence?
It was a birthday dinner. I left it very late (many years too late), primarily out of laziness and procrastination. I wasn’t worried about my parents not accepting me at that point (my dad was good friends with James Baldwin, which I didn’t understand the significance of until years later). I was more ashamed of how long I waited. But that still didn’t make it that much easier to get the words out for some reason. One thing that doesn’t really get talked about that much (that was true for me at least) is that coming out isn’t really something you do once and get it over with, especially for those that would be considered “straight-acting”. I pretty much have to come out to every person I meet for the rest of my life. As I get older, it’s not a big deal at all anymore. I throw in a subtle comment here or there. But it’s almost always still a conscious decision to do so, or not to. I still occasionally refrain from revealing it to certain people, like clients that seem like they would be put off by it. Anyway, I really wasn’t intending to make this about me, lol. I really enjoyed the story, and really like that it was told from the parent’s perspective. I guess this really isn’t a coming out story at all, rather a story of an estranged parent getting to reconnect with their child.
I'm glad you told me the story. Gives me new insight.
Nice. A happy ending, with the mystery of what comes next.