YAY! Uncle Aidan is Coming Back

Aidan and Michael will be here on Wednesday. They will be staying upstairs with Stevie and Paul for a few days then, next Sunday, the four of us are driving up to Maine. Good thing Aidan is small and, from what he tells me, Michael is pretty much a pocket gay, otherwise they would never fit into the back seat of my car.

Aidan is my mother's brother. He is only 25 years old -- closer to my age than to mum, who is his older sister. He was the unexpected baby of the family and was spoiled rotten by his three older sisters. I don't think I have ever seen him not be in a good mood. When he is around, everybody is happier, every situation is comical, and every day is a holiday.

Aidan is responsible for so much of what is good in my life. Last summer, he took me to P-Town for a few weeks, then brought me down to NYC. That was my first real experience with any type of gay lifestyle. He said he had known that I was gay for a few years, but had waited until I was comfortable enough with my sexuality to bring it up. He encouraged me to come out to mum and dad, and was there for the inevitable melt-down. I think mum blames herself for me being gay because "it runs in the family."

He met his best friend Paul when he was doing graduate work here in NYC a few years ago. Paul is now a psychiatrist and Aidan is a psychologist. We stayed in Brooklyn with Paul and Stevie last summer when we came to the city and Stevie and I became great friends. It was good to have a support base in place when I moved down here to go to school, especially two out guys.

Paul is Marco's cousin. Last fall, Paul finally got an apartment in the "family compound," the apartment building that their grandfather owns in Manhattan. I met Marco through Paul and Stevie.

So, Aidan helped me get comfortable with being gay, helped me to come out to my parents, and introduced me to my boyfriend's cousin who, in turn, introduced me to Marco. Great guy, huh?

Can you imagine the gay old time we'll be having at the beach? Mum will have to paste a smile on her face and just get over it.