National Coming Out Day!

It's National Coming Out Day ya'll! Ah.. I remember my coming out like it was yesterday...

(Cue flashback sound effects.)

"Sister, I'm gay." "O-kay. Are you going to tell mom?"

"Mom, I'm gay." "NOOooo!" (shriek of terror)

"Err.. does that mean no grandchildren for me? There's always time to change..." (Cue tears, hug)

"Dad, I'm gay." "Whatever makes you happy."

(Cue sappy music as everyone looks into the distance. Pan up, fade to white.)

Okay, that was slightly over-dramatic (you can read what actually happened on Christmas Day with My Family).

Since then, I haven't explicitly told my extended family (most of them figured it out via gossip, and some even through mass media), least of all my grandmother. That changed last weekend.

I had invited Boopy to come with me for a weekend of festivities in the middle of Penn, including my teamed triathlon and my aunts' partners' birthday party (yes, there's another homo in my family). During the party, my drunk aunt decided to introduce, rather, announce the families to the attending guests. Over microphone. All was fine until she realized that I also had a guest for her to announce.

"And we're also lucky to have Jase's boyfriend, Boopy!"

Panic.

Of which I didn't have much time because my non-English-speaking Grandmother whipped her head around to me and uttered, 'boyfriend?' My initial response was to deny it, so I did, but she wasn't listening anymore and quickly excused herself to the bathroom.

"She just got out of the hospital, now you want to send her back," my mom chided my still-drunken aunt. "Oops. Well, it's better coming from me, right?"

When she returned (from bawling her eyes out my mom assured me), all she said (in Chinese) was, "Don't be crazy like your aunt." Luckily, I have a lot of experience ignorning my grandmother. Not so was Boopy who had to endure the wrath of the evil-squinty-eyes for the rest of the weekend.

Happy National Coming Out Day! Here's to outing everyone you know!