Proud.

Monthly Curtain Call

Something I Saw

When I was 13 years old, my mom told me that she was gay. My parents had divorced a couple of years prior and Mom and I were going through a lot of changes together. The biggest changes of all though were attributed to the fact that I was 13 and my world was changing. 

I stole my poor mom's thunder that day when we had an arbitrary fight between teenager and mom and Mom said, "you don't know everything about me, you know" and I retorted, "What? You're gay?" And stormed off to my room leaving my mom's mouth hanging open. 

We laugh about it now, and even then, my world wasn't shattered because my mom was gay, it was because she wasn't letting me do whatever it was I wanted to do.

What I didn't know then (and probably neither did Mom), was what growing up being an ally to the most important woman in my life would mean. 

And it was a struggle for the first years. We lived in a small town, I had struggled in that town a lot with my reputation to begin with, I wasn't athletic and didn't fit in with the cool girls. But I had great friends. Some of which are still great friends today. One of which moved all the way to the west coast to live in our basement suite. So we told a select few and let the rest of the world think what they wanted to think. It was a big moment for me at my high school graduation, when I knew I was getting the hell out of dodge, for my mom to wear a tux and bring her lesbian partner at the time to the ceremony. Nobody pointed, or stared, or even asked (well maybe they did, but I didn't care enough to notice) and then it was just out there. No more whispers and rumours in high school hallways. No going back.

The amazing thing about being the child of a gay parent, especially then, especially when that parent came out late in life, is that you come out too. And you keep coming out, to new friends, co workers and eventually the new family of your partner.

I saw this yesterday: 

And immediately joined the community. The resources that exist now that weren't even a glimmer then for gay families fill me with so much pride and hope.

When I was 18, I was lucky enough to meet two amazing little girls that had to go through it all yet. And I stood by them, we marched in parades, we went to family drag shows. We banded together and when the three of us put on pretty dresses and makeup we joked that 'gay skips a generation'. I remember having a conversation with an old boyfriend about how the youngest would have no father figure to scare of future boyfriends. And then he met Kell, who crawled out from under her pickup truck covered in grease and gave him the firmest handshake he's ever had and he took it all back.

And those two girls, they are in healthy happy heterosexual relationships. So am I. We weren't ruined.

So last year shortly after moving here, when Rob and I went to the Pride Parade as allies, alone, I felt very lost without my big gay family. Rob was lost in general, having never participating in Pride before. Not homophobic in any way, but his world was blown wide open :)

This year, my mom is here, and I am starting to find a big gay Victoria family of my own. I ASM'd the big Drag Show kick off to Pride, Cabergay, and while joking about never ever wanting to Stage Manage drag queens... Stage Managing is what I do and what I can give back, and it felt good to give back. 

But the most amazing Pride I've ever had was taking Mom to Vancouver this year for the their enormous Pride Parade in the Davie Street Village. We met my boys Niko and Adam and in all of my years at Pride, I felt like the Proudest Gay Ally that I've ever been.

Here are some moments from that:

My mom in the village where they were painting the boulevard in chalk rainbows.

Across the street from us were pranksters with water guns spraying the parade as it went by (they sprayed a drill sergeant police officer on his motorbike and got a stern talking to), most of the parade people were prepared and sprayed back. The best though was when the Vancouver FD stopped their truck, screwed on their hose and sprayed them down, creating real rainbows in the street!

BC Ambulance represent.

The best part of the whole parade for me, were the rainbow epaulets on the BCAS shoulders. Rob should be so proud to work for and be leadership in such a foreword thinking EMS community.

This brought tears to my eyes.

Orange Crush

So pretty.

This one is for Anne and Shauna, BC Corrections Officers! Loud and Proud!

My other favourite Pride Float, and also for Anne...

It's a Vancouver curling club!

Niko and Adam's landlord was festive.

Adam surprised us with a Pride candy apple from Rocky Mountain House.

We got to walk across Vancouver's new permanent rainbow crosswalks!

The festival goers.

And my absolutely favourite part of Vancouver, all dressed up for Pride.

I seriously visit these guys every time I can, they make me so unbelievably happy.

Which is actually sort of their purpose.

So you can imagine my squeal of delight when I saw them in their rainbows!

They were protected by a fence this time though, too much traffic with Pride and the International Fireworks competition, so I couldn't run up and give them a hug.

I'll give them an extra big squeeze next time. To thank them, for being so supportive.

Sunday Snapshots. Edition 1

I'm going to try something new weekly, and bring you a round up of my favourite moments from the week in photography form.

Welcome to #SundaySnapshots. Edition 1.

Week of August 29, 2013

Photo Round Up

SKAM bought a truck this week. Getting it here was a small fiasco. But in the mean time, I licensed it!

Now wait and see what we are planning to do with it!

During the truck delivering fiasco, I had time to take Rob for lunch. He took a week of his holidays to bum around and start work on the teardrop trailer this week (but I sort of usurped some of that time with, "honey, since your free this week" sorts of things... like, accompanying me to a root canal), so we went for lunch at the newish bistro just around the corner from our house. 

The Truck arrived and we gave SKAM fans a sneak peak. And because you folks live on the internet, you only get a sneak peak as well ;)

                                 

Rob got started on the trailer after all.

We discovered plums in our yard. See. I think it is our plum tree. What do you think?

The figs ripened!

Last rhubarb harvest, but Hello Figs!

And then we immediately realized that we would soon have dozens and dozens and dozens of figs and we'd better start figuring out what to do with them all.

First attempt at preserving Figs.

And a popsicle experiment.

Max and I had our suspicions that the fax machine doesn't work. Max mused, "I wish we knew someone with a fax machine that could tell us if they've received it" I said "WE HAVE A FAX MACHINE." -- What followed was a series of total failures in the use of outdated modern technology. And Rob's exasperation.

The verdict. Its sends out. But we can't receive anything. Don't send us a fax.

I drove the truck. It was terrifying. I'm still not showing you the rest of it.

After my distractions and a day of rain. Rob finally began welding.

And while kitten and I cleaned the house, I found her spying on Rob from the upstairs window.

We also went to Vancouver for the annual Vancouver Pride Parade. It was pretty amazing and very very long. Also, day trips to Vancouver are also very long, so this post is a day late and a proper Pride Photo Round Up will follow!

I hope you have all had a really great long weekend! Happy SK Day, BC Day and what ever the day you are celebrating in your corner of Canada is!

Now off to harvest more figs!