So in the meantime since I've posted last, a lot's gone on.
Quickly, I want to say Thank You to everyone who voted for me. I've won the 2012 Bondage Award for Best Bondage Advocate! Go see!
Also, Karri, Trigger, and I finally got Twin Cities Leather off the ground. The store is now open for business seven days per week! We have a webmaster working on a new site for us and we should have online sales up and running soon after the New Year. Thank you for all your support and for making our opening night a huge success! We look forward to serving you in the future.
But finally, I want to say thank you for the outpouring of messages after I posted my kinky coming out story.
The sheer amount and sincerity of e-mails, comments, text messages, and in-person thank-yous has been humbling, to say the least. When I posted the original message, and again when I posted the recording of the conversation, I had no idea that it would touch so many people in the ways that it has. I'm proud to have helped some of you out there, but more importantly, I need to thank you for teaching ME something.
On some level, I am just another spoiled, priviledged white kid that was born and raised in the suburbs. Part of me never grew out of that teenage phase of "everything sucks and my life is awful!" I realized that after I listened to the conversation a couple of times myself. Once with a friend, and again to edit out the personal names. Looking back, it really didn't go as terrible as it could have.
Yes, it would be nice if I had accepting, progressive parents who could be happy for me and my business ventures. It would be nice if I had parents who were direct and up front rather than passive aggressive. It's the e-mails and other messages you all sent me, however, that reminded me how lucky I am to have even come this far. They know I'm gay. They've met my partner. Now they know one of the deepest secrets in my life and somehow they managed not to lose their temper, or their patience, and held their shit together to NOT throw me out of the house or forever banish me as their child.
The e-mails and comments you all left reminded me that coming out to parents is still a struggle in some households. Lots of them, in fact. Thank you for your applause over being so brave to do this. It was difficult. I need to thank YOU more, however, for reminding me that it could have been much, much worse. Thank you for reminding me of the meaning of TRUE family.
At the end of the day, I still have my parents. I know I have my leather family.
Maybe it's really time for ME to grow up.
