And it didn't hurt that after a long and terrible day at work, I came home to a handwritten letter from her. Also in the letter was a bracelet she braided for me.
From her wrist...
...to mine.
And I've had the deployment blues so badly this past week, that I read her letter over and over again in my car and just cried. I cried because it felt so good to know that, at the end of a terrible, horrible, unbearable day, I can rely on her to love me and be there for me, no matter the distance.
In other news, I'm heading to Knoxville today! I'm excited! Knoxville is where I went to college and where I made my best friends and where I did most of my growing up. So I'm happy to be going back for a visit and for the chance to see the most wonderful Heather!
There is only one thing I'm not excited about....
Heather's Parents.
They now know that I am gay.
I am gay, and they are Southern Baptists.
I will be lectured.
And even though I know I am strong in my faith and my beliefs, and even though I know I can stand up for myself and who I am without shame...
I'm afraid I'll cow in the face of parental disapproval.
Uuuuugh. I haven't had this talk with a parent since I was 19. It wasn't fun then, and it won't be fun now.
Because it sucks losing the respect of people you love for something you can't control and something you know isn't wrong.
In any case, it's time to take a deep breath, grab my soap box, and get ready for this "discussion."
Be brave! Just remember, it's YOUR life. NOT theirs. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's adorable! I kept David's wedding ring and when he got back I gave it back, and he gave me a tiny flag he kept in his pocket the whole deployment. I love having those links back and forth.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I chose you as one of the winners of my Versatile Blogger Award haha: http://turnforthenurse.blogspot.com/2011/01/1234.html