LGBT

I have a large family, so I came out to different people at different times. I was outed to my mother when I was 20 by a roommate who was pissed off that I wouldn't sleep with him. He tried to "justify" his actions by stating it was for the best, despite the fact he was older than me and hadn't come out to his own parents. I came out to my father during the DADT battles. He was very supportive which was a shock for me because he is former military and had actually called me a "faggot" when I was 17. Of course, I found out years later that my mother had told him and threatened him if he ever said anything to me or treated me differently, she would divorce him and "take everything you own, plan to own, dream about owning, I will take it if you hurt my child." And people wonder why I am so intense?! I am my mother's son.

I came out to my brother who is a couple of years younger than me on New Year's Eve one year. He was just glad I wasn't sleeping with his then girlfriend (now, my sister-in-law). My two youngest brothers figured it out on their own. Both are very gay positive, one has a best friend who is gay and was his best man at his weddings. Various other family members happened throughout the next few years (21-25). The best story is my step-grandmother.

I was given a trip to the Bahamas for my college graduation. It was my mom's dad, his wife, and my mom's sister, who went with me. I told my aunt in the hotel the night before we left on the trip. She was more upset that I hadn't told her the year before when I lived with her because she had a friend she wanted to set me up with. My grandmother...well, we were in the Bahamas in a casino. We were tapped out, so we sat at the bar and were getting smashed on Bahama Mamas. We were just chatting away and she says, "I don't want to upset you, but I love you." Of course, being drunk and a bit of an ass, I just laughed and said "What a shocker!" Then she continued, "and I don't care who you love." That, of course, cause my jaw to drop and I sat there like I had been electrocuted. She had figured it out because she caught me cruising the hot Roulette Wheel dealer. I begged her not to tell my grandfather and she agreed. That lasted all of two minutes, when she announced, "Poppa knows. I told him last night!" She said she suspected I was gay and it didn't matter because she had taken me to kindergarten and watched me grow into a wonderful young man, and he (my grandfather) needed to "get over it." My grandfather replied," He's my grandson, I love him no matter what." And that was that. I spent the rest of the vacation scoping out dudes with my grandmother and my aunt. They were very pleased with the guy I hooked up with on the trip. My grandmother, upon seeing him emerge from the ocean in a speedo, said, "Good G-d! that's a hot motherfucker! That's my boy (meaning me)!" LOL! My family just ain't right.

I never "came out" to my favorite aunt. She died a few months after I visited her with my partner, we just never said anything. Turns out, she knew and was very happy that I had such a wonderful man to share my life with. Of course, that made her loss even more hurtful in some ways, but I am glad she knew. Most of my cousins don't give a flip, nor do my nephews and nieces. There were a few rough patches over the years, but for the most part, everyone has been very supportive. They all love my partner of 10 years. I am a very lucky man.