A trip to New England.

It had been a little while since I had made it home, so I took a trip back to New England and visited with family and friends. First, I flew into Cape Cod, Massachusets where I got to see A LOT of my family. I actually got to see some of my aunts who I hadn't seen in over a year. Needless to say, it was great to see them. They all asked about how the adoption process was going. They all seemed surprised that we're still searching for a birthmother, but I assured them that when our time comes it will come. Hopefully sooner than later!

After the Cape I went on to visit some family friends in New Hampshire. I also hadn't seen them for sometime. I first met them whe I was attending boarding school in Dublin (www.dublinschool.org). One of my close school friends was a girl by the name of Sierra, and over time I essentially adopted her entire family as my own. After college I actually moved back to New Hampshire and lived with them for a little while. I got a job, and spent the rest of my time as a mentor to Sierra's little brother (Jesse). For years I have called Jesse "my psuedo little brother." He, and his other sister Sasha, have really grown up so much over the last few years. I'm so proud of them both!

After New Hampshire I drove to Maine to visit with my parents. My Dad and stepmother still live on an a little island off the coast of Maine. It's always great to see them, and the island is such a neat place. There are only 600 year round residents! There are no big grocery stores - just a couple of local markets, and a restaurant that's part of an Inn. This time of year all the summer people come to the island. This increases the population to about 2000, which drives my parents crazy. They really like the pace fo the island, so when the "summer people" come and try to, in some cases litterally, speed things up they get pretty annoyed.

I was there most of the week, and it was pretty low key. We did take my dad's boat our for a quick trip around some of the surrounding islands, and then over to the main land to grab a bite to eat. Not only do I enjoy being on the boat, but seeing my dad - who LOVES being on boats - enjoy himself is great too. Basically, when he's on the boat he's happy no matter what's going on. I can't wait until we have a baby and he, or she, is old enough to go on the boat. Here's a picture of my dad and I in the yard.

Visiting my mom and stepfather was also great. They are both doing well and staying busy with one thing or another. A couple years ago my mother started volunteering for a group that supports gay youth in the MidCoast Maine area. She really enjoys it, and is now the group counselor. She invited me to their weekly group meeting. I was REALLY impressed by the youth members that were there. At this particular meeting there was a radio host there interviewing my mother and the youth about some of the challenges of being a young GLBT person in rural Maine. Everyone did a great job, but I was particularly impressed with how well spoken the youth members were. It was clear that they had put a lot of thought in to the world around them, and what needs to be done so people can accept people for who they are. I have no doubt that they will be leaders wherever they end up!

My mom's house was the last stop on my trip. John wasn't able to join me on this trip - so at this point I was really ready to get home and see him (and the rest of my Atlanta friends and family). It's always fun to travel and see friends and family - but it's also always great to get back home!

Thanks for reading!
~W