Rainbow

So on my cross-country road trip I find myself in Magog, Quebec. I spent two days in Montreal, one of which I spent working. For the entire day. I tried to meet up with a friend for lunch, ended up leaving early, going home to work, and being late for my hair appointment. I swear to God I was the only geek in the entire salon who wasn't just enjoying one of the greatest indulgences in life, not to mention being in Montreal, one of my favorite cities. Instead of enjoying it, I was on my laptop working the rest of the afternoon.

This is why working corporate and me are never going to last. So it's Pride weekend in Toronto and I feel a bit sad missing it, seeing as how me and Lizzie always paint the town red (ie. drink for 5 consecutive days at Pride parties) and all. I think I'm getting a little bit old to have the stamina to make it through Pride, so secretly, I'm happy to have an excuse not to have to keep up all weekend.

I have my own tiny version of Pride going on this weekend though, as I'm currently out in the country and tomorrow road-tripping it out east with my adopted uncle, Brett. At dinner tonight he made a toast (one of the thousands of things I wasn't allowed to do as a JW) and he said that all of us were "family". I had to leave the table so I could run to the washroom and cry.

I'm still not comfortable with the unconditional love. I like it, but it's foreign to me still, and I'm more at home with people who I can't and don't really trust. But maybe going home with Brett will change things. We'll go see Grandma, then I'll go see my Dad and if that doesn't set things right in my head, I don't know what will.

I know one thing for sure though. I'm proud of my friends who are celebrating Pride this weekend. It takes guts to go out and be who you really are in a world that may or may not choose to accept that. Sexual orientation is only one of the important issues facing us, but in a lot of ways, my gay friends can relate to me on a much deeper level than my straight friends do. Most of them have suffered the insecurity of coming out. (Like I did.) Most of them have dealt with some kind of shunning or abandonement. (Like I did.) Most of them have come through the other side. (Like I did.) All of them are fabulous. Like I am.