a truly great weekend

a few months ago, i met gary's mom. a truly great lady. i remember meeting her at the airport, where she immediately gave me a hug and made me blush by saying aloud, "he is cute!". we had a great weekend while she was here in chicago.

i couldn't wait to visit huntsburg to see where gary grew up and meet the rest of his family. while excited, i was a bit nervous. like some of my family, acceptance of two people of the same sex together is somewhat foreign and difficult to understand. most of all, i was nervous to meet chad, gary's brother.

we drove from the airport in cleveland through small towns. they looked like any small town in indiana, where i grew up. differently though, i was able to see the amish community and the buggies driving down the highways. as we pulled up to the house, i took everything in. the butterflies in my stomach seemed to move a little bit. comforting though, we were greeted at the door by nadine. like before, she gave me a big hug and told me how nice it was to see me again.

we had a great dinner and talked about various subjects. much of the conversation dealt with family members who i was to meet the next day. later, gary's brother's loud, diesel truck backed into the driveway. the first handshake of acceptance was near. when he came to the deck where we were sitting, he immediately said hello and joined the conversation and began to tell stories, which we all laughed at.

on saturday, gary took me through various towns to show me sites that he had mentioned or that might be of interest. it was so nice to sit in the passenger seat and take in northeast ohio. we returned to the house and the extended family started to show up. i was introduced to each member, one by one. no one was shy. i learned of breast reductions, uncles shitting causing a delay of arrival, and a complete divide of the sexes. this family was no different than my own! i felt completely comfortable.

the day was great! we had a great lunch (cooked by gary and i!) and enjoyed the company of everyone present. later in the evening we made a fire and sat by it, drinking miller lite out of a can. i was excited to make nadine her first s'more while the country music blared out of the pickup pulled up in the grass behind us.

only later did i hear what everyone had to say:
stacy and sherry thought i was cute
aunt claudia didn't care if it was a guy or a girl, as long as gary was happy
and chad, knowing that his father was okay with it, would be accepting of his brother's life

it was truly a great weekend. i was so happy to meet each person there. the smile on gary's face throughout the weekend allowed me to see just how much his home and family means to him. i'm glad that i was a part of the weekend. and i know that i will only continue to grow closer to this family.