Phew... after 12 years I'm finally getting a real, honest to god, week off from work... from both jobs!!!

Now, I don't count the time that Jesse and I spent with my Mom when she passed away as a vacation... and, although I loved the times I've spent with other fathers from our site, those have been 2 to 3 days at most...

I'm going on vacation...

The coolest part is that I am going to visit my Dad and his wife and my grandmother... and I'm going with my fiance, Bob...

Funny story there... when I came out to my parents 25 some years ago, the one thing that they asked was that I not tell my grandparents (I had no problem with that at the time nor do I still... they're from a different generation... and, heck, my grandma is 90 years old... I won't change her feelings about things at this point...), and I honored that request.

Course, lately, my truculent father finally decided to get online and so I've been emailing frequently to him, his new wife and my grandmother... and not editing my comments when it comes to my Bobby...

So, I'm talking to my grandmother on the phone a few weeks ago (well... screaming is more like it... poor thing is so hard of hearing these days)... and, out of the blue, Granny asks, "So, who is Bob?" ... well, I was thrown for a minute in trying to figure out how to respond... do I honor my parents' request or do I proudly announce that he's my new husband?

Grandma took care of it by saying... "Oh, is he your 'friend'" I swear, you could hear the quotes in her voice... I literally laughed out loud and said, "Yes, Granny, he's my friend." Her response? "As long as you're happy." My response? "I'm happier than I've ever been, Granny." And she was good with that....

Apparently, though, she's not real comfortable with Bob and I... but that's okay... she's a lovely lady and I don't mind respecting her level of comfort with my being a gay man with my partner in her home...

The best part is that I'll have a few days with both of my brothers and dad and grandma and will get to show my Bobby my old stompin' grounds...

All the best,

Smokey