I came out to my friend Karl this past Saturday. I was on vacation visiting friends & family. Karl lives where I moved from six years ago. I was a priest in the church there for 9 years. Karl was a parishioner, next door neighbor, my daughter's godfather and her pediatrician. Karl and I also did a lot of youth ministry together. I knew I wanted to come out to Karl. I was sure of his support and he can keep a confidence better than anyone I know. I just wanted to do it in person and this was the first opportunity. Though she is a good friend, I'm not ready to come out to his wife Sherry. She is likely to have some anger towards me on behalf of my wife and daughter. I arrived at Karl's house around 8pm after an 11 hour drive. After dinner, everyone cleared out of the dining room except Karl and me. I moved one chair closer to him and said there was something I needed to talk about. I told him he would be the 12th person to know this, but that I began the process of coming out this past January. We then talked for a while about how my wife is handling in, what clues there were when I was living there and how bad my depression had become before coming out. What I was most pleased about was that I had absolutely no anxiety about coming out to Karl. In fact, I was a little bit excited and part of me was even proud to do so. This is shocking to me given where I was in January. Of course later in the week I spent some time at my brother's house. I'd like to tell him but I don't think he could keep from telling his wife and our brother. I have some very conservative family members and I don't want to deal with that kind of static yet. All I can say is that I hope my story is typical and that it gets easier and easier for everyone coming out. (&&&) peace,
Congrats! Glad to hear that you're getting more comfortable with coming out. I'm in a similar place in that I'm not afraid of someone learning about me other than my sister and parents!
Hey Congratulations on telling Karl! I'm glad it went so well for you :eusa_danc I hope coming out to your parish etc goes just as well Nick
This is so amazing to hear! You're handling this with such courage and thought, it is really an inspiration to others. Congratulations on this latest step
Congratulations Mike And by the way, you're entitleled to be proud of yourself. Coming out, especially in your situation is far from being easy and you do that with an outstanding courage. (*hug*) take care
Hey Mike that is fantastic! You have come such a long way since joining EC - it's amazing to watch! That sense of pride you felt - keep it handy for the next one. You are an inspiration to all of us! (&&&)
