Today I turn 50. Two years and three days ago, I left my family home and started life as a gay man. Its been the hardest two years of my life and I know - because I turned their lives upside down - its been incredibly difficult for Mini and the kids, but here we are. This is not a FB vanity thing, but just for me and those I love. Early on someone said to me that I would be coming out every day for the rest of my life and to a degree it has been like that. There are always people who dont know. Telling people, and being really comfortable with who I am and what Ive done, has gone from being a source of great anxiety to something that now seems so right that it hardly even rates. Ive gone from being a catastrophizer (there is such a word) to just mildly neurotic which is a big win and this broadcast is a sign that Ive reached that point. Many of you know and have been amazing and some dont. Well now you do. There are things in life that are way more important. Health, happiness, family and friends. I am healthy, mostly happy, have the most amazing and supportive family and incredible friends. Last night Hazel told me that my coming out had made her a stronger and more mature person. Last year she gave a speech about gay marriage at school and had the courage to talk about me. She ended with a joke about how she never thought her father would get a boyfriend before she did. When I first told the boys, Lewi hugged me and asked how I could possibly think the three of them would love me less because of who I really was. My parents and sisters have been a source of strength and Mini has been amazing. Tomorrow night I cook for a friend who probably has less than a month to live after a decade long battle with cancer. She told me earlier this year about a transformation she had made - that her days were going to be about preparing to live, not die. Another friend came very close to dying just recently and now knows the importance of celebrating life, not stressing it away. Be happy people. Sometimes its hard and it hurts, but being up front with yourself is a brilliant way to navigate life.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:16:03 +0000
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