Day 7 of my 7-day gratitude list. 1. My last talk with my Dad. Our relationship had its up and downs. For a long time, my Dad had problems with me being gay. But we both came around. We formed a relationship in his final years that i never thought would have been possible. And in the end, we were all good. He told me how proud he was of me, he told me he accepted me not matter what and I will never forget these words: I did the best I could. I replied, So did I, Dad. My Dad died in October 2001 at age 61. I miss you, Dad. 2. Bullies. Its taken me a long time to get to the point of saying Im grateful for the bullies that terrorized me when I was kid. I heard the word faggot from very early on. And I heard it often growing up in Howard Beach, New York. But those bullies--I cant even remember most of their names now--helped teach me something. Through them, I learned I was worth something, I was a human being who deserved to be treated with respect. It gave me an extra push to prove them all wrong, to prove that their words (and sometimes physical bullying) would not get in my way. I think of that gay rights slogan that says, Were here, were queer, get used to it. Instead, I like to say, Im here, Im queer, I really dont care what you think of me--thats your problem, not mine. 3. Love. Its so simple, but thank God I have love in my life. The love of family and friends is my spiritual diet. Thank you again to Scott Seviour for tagging me for the 7-day gratitude challenge. Today, I tag Michael Stringert, Jamie Krauss Hess and Phillip Aleman.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:00:10 +0000
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