family

  • Walk Away

    Walk Away

    I haven’t had too much luck with godparents. In fact, there is only one I still talk to. I remember introducing Rick to one of them shortly after we were married. The response was not “Hello, nice to meet you.” It was a cold, very pointed: “You must be Rick.” The homophobia became apparent very…

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  • The Rules to the Game

    The Rules to the Game

    Right after my sister died, I went down a spiral questioning absolutely everything about life. I became angry and bitter. My mind was filled with questions, but one kept circling louder than the others: are we really in control of our lives, or is everything already decided and fate simply set into motion? Fate. There…

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  • Mother’s Day

    Mother’s Day

    Life with my mother comes back in flashes now. It is funny how differently you see things as an adult than you did as a child. I see her more human now than I ever did before. I see the other side of the story that children are often too young to understand. I understand…

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  • Five in the Morning

    Five in the Morning

    I sit on the edge of the bed at 4:30 in the morning and think about all of the fractures in a life. There is something about this hour that strips away distraction. The world is quiet enough that truth begins rising to the surface whether you want it to or not. I think about…

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  • Before They Said It Out Loud

    Did you ever want to say to someone: “You can invent whatever little stories or excuses you need to tell yourself and other people. But in the end, this comes down to one simple truth. You’re a homophobe. And deep down, you know it. What’s more important is that I know it. And I always…

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  • When Silence Becomes the Rule

    This week, legislation tied to proposals like the one introduced by Tim Walberg is being pushed at the federal level. We’ve already seen the blueprint in Florida with what became known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. It started the same way. Curriculum. Appropriateness. Protecting children. People said it was limited. People said it wouldn’t…

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  • Never a Mystery

    Never a Mystery

    I always hated the game that was being played around me. “Is he or isn’t he?” It was never anyone’s business to begin with, and if it mattered that much, all they had to do was ask. I would have answered. The truth is, the people who needed to know, knew. I was always resentful…

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  • The Punchline Was on Him

    The Punchline Was on Him

    You know, I came out to my parents before anyone else. My mom was the first to know. Then again, a mother always knows. I believe that is true. It was not easy being the odd man out in a family. You learn to adjust. You learn to pay attention. Every time I encountered homophobia…

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  • Mornings Like This

    Mornings Like This

    It’s in the quiet times of the morning when my mind wanders back to the past. There’s a lot of hurt there, and it would be very easy to wrap myself in it and disappear for a while. Someone once asked me about my ex. I told them I stepped away from that situation to…

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  • Inside Grace

    Inside Grace

    I’ve spent some time over this past week writing about the crucifixion and the resurrection. Not because I felt the need to explain them, and not because I think I have answers that anyone else doesn’t. I wrote because I had something to say, and because it is still rare to see a gay man…

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