It's Friday, and that's a good thing

Honestly, if you had asked me a year ago whether I really cared about same-sex marriage, I would have said "no." And that's not completely true.....I mean, I cared about it, but it certainly wasn't affecting my life at all, so I didn't focus too much energy on the topic.

Let me give you some history:

I didn't really figure things out until I was 26 or 27. Ok, sure....I knew I was gay, but I wasn't ready to admit it until I was 26 or 27. But looking back, I know now that part of me had known for a long time.....even back to my childhood. Part of me knew in grade school, when I felt most comfortable playing basketball or soccer with the boys. And part of me knew in high school - when all my friends were dating boys and going to school dances and making out in parked cars. Facebook is now litered with random pictures from high school - pictures of couples at dances, pictures of groups having dinner before a dance, pictures of groups hanging out at someone's house after a dance.....and at first glance, I forget why I'm not in any of those pictures.....but then I remember.

And then there were those large family gatherings. You know the kind - generations of folks gathered together, probably for some holiday celebration. I have clear memories of relatives asking my sister to tell them stories about her latest love interests......but those same relatives knew better than to ask me for my stories, so I just listened along with everyone else - nodded or laughed at the appropriate times, and life went on.

I entered a convent when I was 20. It just seemed like the most logical thing to do. Church (and everything about it) was always a comfortable environment for me....and I knew enough to know I wasn't going to get married and give birth to babies.....so I became a nun. Deductive reasoning, right? Well, that lasted just shy of a year and a half. I left the convent with the intention of returning in a year or two, but that never happened.....and I'm not complaining about that. Not at all.

After I left the convent, I applied for a volunteer ministry position with NET Ministries - a traveling, team-based youth ministry based in West St Paul, MN. Even though my in-person interview was 21 years ago or so, I remember parts of it as if it happened yesterday. I remember being asked to affirm my belief in several aspects of Catholicism, and I remember answering "yes" to all but one question.....when she asked if I believed homosexuality to be sinful, I responded with "mmmhmmm" as if saying the word "yes" would somehow leave me in a tortured state from which I might never return. I'll never forget that. I went on to serve for 2 years with NET. I won't pretend they were easy years, but I don't regret a minute of that time. Maybe I'll tell you more about that 2-year experience some day....

Ok. It's time for dinner......and Wheel of Fortune just started. Don't make fun of me - this is damn good entertainment. You know you watch it, too. Some dude just guessed the answer - Frisky Feline Friends......not one of the better puzzles I've ever seen.