Sharings by Daniel

In all my years of employment, I never came out to the whole office or volunteered my being a gay man.  Today, I proudly took my partner and love to the company picnic.  He is a wonderful man, and the time was right to share him with my co-workers.  I have been two years at my present job, but this is the first event held by the company where family was invited.  He was well received.

I have always taken a don’t ask, don’t tell approach, based on my assumption that if someone wanted to know about my personal life, they would ask.  I have no difficulty sharing openly about most aspects of my life, given the opportunity.  If someone asked me if I were gay, I’d say yes.  But I have been reluctant to give out the information to those who may not want to know.  After two years of waiting for a chance to say more about myself, I felt it was time, and my dear companion was up to the challenge.  You never know how people may react, but as my boss said, “I think it’s great you feel comfortable enough to bring your partner.”

I mention this small step in my life, as I ponder why I started this blog: an experiment in honesty and transparency.  What does it mean to be honest?  Does it mean answering “yes” when asked?  Or saying “I am gay” when others go on and on about their wife and kids?  Ultimately life is a series of moments we sift through, learning from each how better to respond to the next, and growing in the wisdom of knowing when.  Today, the time was right, and I’m glad I did not let the moment go by.