Came out to my kids

The last step in my coming out process was to tell my kids. After putting it off for some time, trying to come up with the perfect words, I realized that I just needed to do it, regardless of whether I had it planned perfectly.

So, Saturday afternoon I started talking to them about love and how much I loved them. Apparently, I was taking too long because they all kept telling me to just start the movie we were about to watch. Then, my five year old son blurted out, “When I grow up, I want to marry a man.” I could not believe it! It was almost as if he knew and was helping me out. He made it so easy from there. I talked about how anyone can fall in love with anyone else, a man with a man, a man with a woman or a woman with a woman. The kids all said, “Yeah, we know that dad, now let’s start the movie.” I then explained how I loved [Name of Boyfriend]. I explained that just like mommy had a boyfriend, so did I. Although he and I have been together for a couple of years, and they all really like him, I did not think they knew that we were more than friends. Well, I could not have been more wrong. My seven year old son said, “Yeah, we already know that. Now can we start the movie?” I asked him if he understood what kind of love I was talking about and he said, “The romantic kind.” I then began explaining how when two men or two women love each other, it is called being gay. Well, I was a little late on that one too. My eleven year old said several times that they knew what gay meant and “could we just start the movie!”

Needless to say, my news was apparently no news to them. Watching the movie was more interesting than having a gay dad. The only other comment from the kids since then was my five year old son today singing my boyfriend’s first and last name, with my last name added at the end of his (like a woman hyphenating her last name when she marries), and then giving me a cute little smile. WOW!

So, the conversation I was most worried about is over. I am sure we will have many more talks about it in the coming years. But, I am again going to bed with a smile, thinking about how perceptive those wonderful little guys really are. As hard as some days can be, this weekend was truly priceless and one that I will remember for the rest of my life.