I came out to my wife a couple of months ago. (I posted on this on another topic). At this time, I'm out to my wife, best friend, and boss. So tomorrow, I plan to come out to my Brother. I'm somewhat nervous about that - even more so. I'm 55 years old and as far as I'm concerned I've been in the closet for over 40 years. I can remember feeling this way when I was 15. But, dang it I'm too old to live a lie anymore! :lol: Wish me much success tomorrow!
I wish you great success tomorrow, wvbear! For myself, I only Came Out for the first time at age 50. The first person I Came Out to was my best friend and he was totally cool with it, as I expected him to be. Still, it was totally nerve-wracking. After that, as I came out to more friends, and then family members, it generally got easier. But it is NEVER easy for US, even if the family members or friends consider it a non-issue, are simply accepting, or totally enthusiastically accepting. Or, God-forbid, unaccepting. You have my hopes and prayers with you!
Did it - it went fine - he still loves me and i'm still his brother. yada yada... no biggie. He thinks I need to really think long and hard before making any final decision regarding my marriage...
Congratulations, wvbear! It's always nice to hear positive Coming Out stories. As far as what your brother said about thinking long and hard before making any final decision regarding your marriage, if he means to be deliberate about it, then that's probably great advice. If he's hinting that you should possible stay unhappily married for some reason, then I don't think he really understands. Of course, it sounds like it was probably just his knee-jerk reaction to your Coming Out, so maybe he'll have some different thoughts after he has had time to digest your news. Best of luck!
Way to go wvbear! I know how important it is that my brother knows and supports me, so I can understand how that must have felt. Way to go! *warm hugs from the west coast* Patrick
And came out to my best friend's wife tonight. She's so happy for me. (which was a foreign response to me). Right now, everybody thinks that I need to come out to my Mom. I'm not there yet but maybe next month.... My coming out tour continues...
Congratulations, again, wvbear! That's great! In terms of others telling you to Come Out to your Mom, don't let others dictate who you Come Out to or when you Come Out to them. This is your personal and private information. Nobody else has a right to pressure you into Coming Out to anyone until and unless you are ready. So only Come Out to your Mom when you are comfortable doing so!
Absolutely, wvbear. I understand. Perhaps you should reiterate to those you have Come Out to, that they are not to share your information with anyone else, since that is your right alone. But, as you imply, sooner or later, word is likely to get back to your Mom and you (rightly) want to be the one to tell her. Still, you can only do that when you are comfortable doing so. Talking to parents about this is always uncomfortable - no matter how old we are. Best of luck!
