Thankful

I know a post about being thankful seems a bit late, but I believe you should give thanks daily, not just on a day you are supposed to gorge yourself. 

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Mine was pretty awesome. I had a blast on Wednesday night hanging with one of my oldest friends, Sebs. Sebs and I go way back, 25 years to be exact! She is a great listener and gave me some heartfelt advice. It was wonderful to be able to spend some time with her. We drank, talked and were very merry. Especially when her sister showed up at 2:00 am with $40 worth of Del Taco. A drunkards dream!!

Thursday turned out to be an eventful day in my life. I came out to two important people: My mom and my dad's wife. I just felt like it was the right time. My dad's wife was actually ecstatic for me. She was very encouraging and told me that she thought my dad would be smiling down from heaven because I am happy and finally living fully. Telling my mom was a bit more nerve racking. My mom and I are very close. We speak almost every day and I see her as one of my closest confidants and advisers. After heading to the theater to catch a matinee of "Burlesque" we headed back to her house. I had a hard time deciding how I was going to bring this up. What I decided on was this, 

"So I went to see Harry Potter on Tuesday. It was really good. I went on a date...with a girl named S." 

To which my mom replied, "Are you telling me something right now?"

"Yes, I am dating women"

"I'm not surprised. If this is what makes you happy, then I am happy for you."

There was some more discussion after that but my mom fully supports me and that feels fantastic! It was really hard to keep a piece of who I am from my mother. To tell you the truth, most people I tell have the exact same reaction. Like they all knew I was a lesbian all along. Hmm...were my clothes really that butchy? (Yes, they were.)

In other news, I have a date on Friday with another lady from Ok Cupid. We hit it off via email, so hopefully the connection will translate to meatspace conversation. I'm actually kind of nervous. I keep thinking I am going to get stood up all the time. I'm not sure why. I suppose trust is the root issue (my psychologist would be proud!) - and putting yourself out there can be scary.

I also wanted to mention that I just finished reading Pam Grier's autobiography Foxy: My life in three acts. What an inspiring woman! I will leave you with one passage that meant a lot to me:

"Life had always been relatively good to me, offering me some pretty intense lessons as well as new situations and opportunities that were mine for the taking. I usually took them, anxious for the next experience, since leaving one phase of life with no bitterness usually leads to the wonder of the next one. It just keeps on coming, and we have to stand up and embrace the newness with positive anticipation and a good sense of humor. When the world seems to be getting gray and shutting down, the next day always comes, bringing with it a whole new set of possibilities, which hopefully we can meet with an open heart."