I came out to my first gay friend the day before yesterday, he was surprised but delighted that I had taken this step toward being honest with myself and others. He told me that he envied me because I will have the best of both worlds, I had kids and now will eventually have a same-sex relationship. In turn, I told him that I envied him because he is married to his best friend (who is seriously ill) and that his love has carried them both over many difficult months during his husband's recovery. I envied most that their love was unreserved, true, deep and everlasting-romantic notions to be sure, but these were things I have never, not once ever, had with my soon-to-be-ex wife. We then spoke of many things related to being gay and being in a relationship with someone close to dying, it was a great conversation and our friendship, dare I say our brotherhood, has deepened immeasurably. After all is said and done, this kind of love is what we are all seeking, or should be.
Well done, Great Whale. Moving in the right direction, and he is also lucky to have a friend to talk about his husband's illness, too. Friendships like this get stronger when you trust each other to listen to the important things.
So true, we were never more than classmates when we were in the same MBA class together a couple of years ago, so I do believe we are definite friends now.
