Dear Hypothetically Gay Son

[XemaSab]

I ran across this letter on Reddit this morning. It is from a father disowning his gay son. It broke my heart. It's not the first time that I've seen something like this. Living in Utah, it's a pretty common story. I had friends experience it first hand in high school. This morning was the first time I've run across it since becoming a dad. My son is living in his mom's belly, so obviously we don't know his sexual preference. Still, the letter I read this morning made me wonder what my letter would say if the news that my son was gay ended up being a surprise. So here it is:

Dear Hypothetically Gay Son,

You're gay. Obviously you already know that, because you told us at the dinner table last night. I apologize for the awkward silence afterwards, but I was chewing. It was like when we're at a restaurant and the waiter comes up mid-bite and asks how the meal is, only in this metaphor you are the waiter and instead of asking me about my meal you said you were gay. I don't know why I needed to explain that. I think I needed to find a funny way to repeat the fact that you're gay… because that is what it sounds like in my head right now. "My son is gay. My son is gay. My son is gay."

Let me be perfectly clear. I love you. I will always love you. Since being gay is part of who you are, I love that you're gay. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea. If you sensed any sadness in my silence last night, it was because I was surprised that I was surprised. Ideally, I would have already known. Since you were an embryo, my intent has always been to really know you for who you are and not who I expect you to be. And yet, I was taken by surprise at last night's dinner. Have I said "surprise" enough in this paragraph? One more time... surprise!

http://www.askyourdadblog.com/2012/08/hypothetical-gay-son.html

[HockeyMom]

1. Although I think having a daughter come out

is quite different than a son (macho attitude and Dads), when our daughter came out at 21 she was terrified at our reaction. SHE was the one suprised. We already knew for many years. Want more potatoes????

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

2. It's gotten dusty all of the sudden here, or maybe it's allergies

anyway, I feel moisture around my ocular area.

This was awesome. That baby is lucky to have that dad.

[pnwmom]

3. I was confused, because I thought you were saying that the letter you posted

was about a man disowning his son.

Obviously, this is quite the opposite. And it's a great letter.

[XemaSab]

4. .

:kick: