akintsucrooner

Day 28 Perryman closet free insight: Grief and processing has been a part of my coming out path especially as my discoveries came after my father had passed away. Tears first began emerging at my first NJ church job in Glen Ridge which I have been fortunate enough to sing periodically for the past 24 years. My father and I were very similar in temperament and intensity. When it really mattered, he was there for me. He just got it. My upbringing was fairly traditional however there were progressive glimmers of what was to come throughout my formative years including my Dad’s United Church of Christ church job; a church home where I would marry Elizabeth Honer in 2015. After my father’s sudden death at 63, tears were unpredictable and hard to come by. I never knew when feelings would come to the surface: reading a card, singing a hymn, missing a coaching, and/or watching a commercial. Despite the societal expectation in which I grew up, I believe my father would have accepted Elizabeth and perhaps would have been a huge ally by 2026. In any case, I believe his spirit was alive and well when my brother Neal wholeheartedly accepted Eliz and I on that St Louis Thanksgiving evening 17 years ago. As I become more and more myself, my grief continues to lift and my tears find joyful release. #pride #day28