my name is bob. i live in central mass. i have a daughter age ten. i love macrame but i don't think i will be retireing off the proceedes any time soon. was married for 17 years got sober got seperated. i consider both things positive.
i now have a boy friend (can someone find a better phrase to discribe a 50 year old man ). i am 42 and just started school to be a cna, hope to be a nurse in a few years. was in the usmc. before "don't ask dont tell". and i'm in that strange place ware i'm not realy out of the closet but i'm not realy in eather. at this point i don't care what my x thinks just don't know how to tell my little girl. would appreciate any input you might have.

Hey, Bob. Sorry, this is the late kid replying more than a month since your post. Trying to catch up after starting a new job and recovering from surgery. So I hope you don't think us unwelcoming.

Yes, what to call a bf when you've been together for almost 8 years-- similar question to yours. I've taken to using the term "Partner," but I wouldn't have used that in the early dating years. Maybe "Companion?"

Your daughter is ten, right? I first told my oldest son when he was nine and he was wonderfully receptive, despite our religious upbringing. You'll find that children today can be much more tolerant than they were when we grew up, especially if we did a good job raising our kids to be kind and understanding in the first place. I have noticed often that our own fears can be projected onto the kids if we are not careful. More often than not, they are receptive when they know that we are still the same dad.

There are some good discussions on this on our Coming Out Boardthat you might have already read.

And I have the full story of when I came out to Josiah HERE. Now that was two years ago that I wrote that post. He's now 15. I told him when he was nine. And my boys have had thus far no real problems with the gay issue. At least, I believe the issues we faced were no different than what other parents face in straight divorces. I hope reading some of our stories helps.

We are here to offer strong shoulders of support. Welcome to GF!