Acceptance.......

I have been busy with my gay friends and my straight friends - does it really matter who they sleep with? - but that time lately for me has been good. I love spending time with friends, I love doing new things, meeting new people, and I've been doing all these things. I also have had the pleasure of spending time with my children and grandchild-yes,grandchild. ouch. All these people in my life are okay with my partner and I and with my being gay. I have heard stories the last couple of weeks of family members of women who are not accepting. You can see the pain in their faces and hear it in their voices. How sad. And some of these women are in their 40's and 50's.

Is there a way we can all help? I'm not professing to have an answer, but asking you if you have an answer. What do you think we can all do together to make it easier for gay people. How sad it is that adults are afraid to tell - parents are afraid to tell their children-teachers are afraid their bosses will find out - it goes on and on. There is one thought that the more people come out, it makes it easier for all others. When people know you, like you, and find out you are gay, but still a cool person, perhaps being gay isn't so bad. I know I have told many I trust and take the risk that they tell others who can't handle it. Many families I work with are very conserva-tive and would not be willing to work with me should they find out that I am gay.

We can be very happy that the Hate Crimes Bill finally passed and will prosecute people for crimes against gay people. I make my contributions I can to HRC, Equality, and Lambda Legal, all oganizations fighting to promote equal rights in the United States.

Check out www.createtheultimatelife.com to find out ways to grow spiritually and emotionally

Are you going to miss the "L word" ?

I loved that the L Word gave a voice to Lesbians as a community. I do not pay for a lot of the cable channels that show gay-friendly media. Did I like the L word. Yes, I did, but there were times where it was too much for me. It was unlike real life as they always made something dramatic happen, which, as a therapist, I avoid drama in my life. I had hoped that I had made enough progress in my personal development that I would like peace in my life.

I certainly enjoyed the attractive people and loved to think of them as lesbians, even though
in real life, most were not. I do wish I had a community that size that I could connect with on a daily basis at the coffee shop. How about you? I would love that communication. My personality is such that I enjoyed Dana, the tennis player. Sometimes I could not watch it because it would get really dumb - How did you feel about Jenny? She drove us all nuts - I guess she did her job as an actress.

My partner isn't too crazy about the show because everyone is hopping into bed with other people. I really like to believe the best of people and relationships. Can people - women - be monogamous and long - term in their relationships. I want to believe yes. I haven't accomplished that yet as I was married for 13 years and had children. I was single for a long time so as not to bring people into my children's lives if it didn't work out.

How about you? Do you believe in long-term monogamy in the lesbian community??