"Enjoy Dinner with your Wife."

My wife's dinner cravings result in my being in any number of places on a Saturday night collecting her meal du jour. This past Saturday, it resulted in my being at Blue Moon Cafe to pick up something Mexican. I went directly to the bar to order her meal and as I placed my order with the waitress, she asked me if I liked my guacamole spicy or regular. I told her that the guacamole was for my wife, not me. She smiled and without skipping a beat, she suggested we play it safe and go with the regular. Then, she put a Corona Light in front of me while I watched the post season game between Tampa Bay and Texas. 

I was enjoying my drink when an elderly gentlemen named Theo (my wife insists I'm a magnet for older men) struck up conversation with me. He shared a lot about his life; everything from his favorite football team, the Steelers, to his best friend who was about to lose his wife to cancer. She was dying as we spoke and would leave behind four children, all of whom were "of age," but that wouldn't really dull the pain of losing a mother. Soon, my dinner arrived and I prepared to leave. Right as I was saying goodbye to Theo, my waitress passed me my order and said with a wink, "Enjoy dinner with  your wife."

I didn't check to see if Theo was shocked or not. What thrilled me was how much fun the waitress seemed to have in wishing me a wonderful night. Ironically, it was October 1st, the beginning of National Coming Out month. I didn't consciously plan on coming out that evening. The clarification that my order wasn't for me but for my wife rolled off my tongue as easily as if I'd told her that I preferred not having cilantro in my dish. Perhaps because it was so easily offered, it resulted in an equally easy acceptance from my waitress.

I love living in this part of the country, where sharing that information will most likely be welcomed with a similar reaction. I also love that I have been able to move through the world as myself and I'm able to share conversation with a stranger who may have been interested in more than my preference of sporting events but didn't choke when he learned I was going home to another woman.

My gratitude goes out to the generations before me who sacrificed so much to allow me to enjoy living authentically. I hope my example inspires young GLBT people to believe that one day they can have a similar experience. Folks, it does get better. And, we deserve it!