And the verdict is...

Grandma and I had a nice breakfast. Towards the end of the meal I said I had something to tell her. I actually wanted to tell her right away so I didn't have to fret over it, but she is practically deaf now (I think she will be 93 this year!), and I didn't feel like making my announcement to her and the people in the adjacent booths, so I waited until our neighbors cleared out.

I just came right out (no pun intended) with it. Actually, I said I suspected she already knew this, but that I was gay. She looked at me for a second and said that she had already accepted that I was and went on to say she wasn't bothered by it. I can't say that I was really surprised a lot since I knew she loved me and didn't really believe she would abandon me or be mean in any way.

I was surprised, however, by how interested she was in the subject. She talked about gay folks she knew, about her sister's gay neighbors who took such good care of their house and about a LDS woman she knew who she was sure was gay. Then she asked me how long I had known and how I had known. I won't share my response because I'm saving my thoughts on that subject for a post of its own.

I told her there were a lot more of us, both men and women, from LDS backgrounds than many people realize. She said she thought so too. I told her about all of you whose thoughts and observations have been so helpful to me; that I was grateful that I found a community that could really understand how I felt and where I could feel support, love and acceptance. She said that she was very happy that I had all of you out there, because she admitted that she could not really understanding because she had always liked males so much (I almost wanted to say, me too!). So my Grandma loves you too!

Most surprising of all, however, was when she asked me whether I was going to find someone. She repeated what I had mentioned earlier about her worries over me being alone. In short, she made it clear without just coming out and saying it that she would be ok with that, and would prefer it to me being alone.

Then we went and looked at the Koi pond at my office and I bought her three hot apple pies at McDonalds to put int he fridge - apparently a new favorite!

Did I mention how much I love my Grandma?

Thank you to all of you who encouraged me and shared you thoughts. And to those of you who didn't leave a post but were hoping and in some cases praying for me. Talking to her about this was absolutely the right decision. My love and appreciation to all of you!