[Kätzchen]

Oh...gosh, it's been an long and winding road for me.

Two school aged friends, Ingrid (from school) and Marv-a (from church).... we nearly always were doing something together and our families knew each other, but none of us had any vocabulary or exposure in social ways to put an finger on it, until probably in our high school years.

We all knew we were different from others in our social groups at school or at church.

My two friends came out during their early 20s.....I don't think I came out until I was in my late 20s, early 30s.

I felt safe among trusted friends, but my family was furious with me. Years later, my youngest brother who is nearly 15 years younger (the baby of the family) was gay since day one. By the time he came out about being gay, my family readily accepted his being gay. Not so, for me tho.

I've created my own supportive set of family and friends, so I'm not dependent on acceptance by members of my natural birth family.

Interestingly, my friend Marv-a and her partner have been together for a few years now, but we've been friends since 2nd grade and still very close after all these years. Ingrid died from Brain cancer a few years ago, but we were very close from 1st grade to 12th grade. Ingrid is survived by her only partner who lives in the bay area.

Of the three of us, I'd say Ingrid was accepted first by her family, but Marv-a didn't find acceptance from her family readily, nor did I.

Sometimes, it feels like I come out more often than I would like to, but I'm grateful for acceptance by chosen family and friends. They've been my lifeline all these years, particularly my childhood friend who lives in Kansas.