SaturdaySamples Time! *The Crowd Roars* Drop In For Your Mini-Indie Fix!

Taken from Chapter 14: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road ~
(My parents had just helped me move into my first apartment)

Finally, the last of the boxes were brought in, and it was time to say goodbye to our helpers. The two people who had put me through hell, and also tried to save me from hell, stood there awkwardly. Not quite sure what to say, or how to make their exit gracefully. Quite a bittersweet moment. We clumsily said our goodbyes, and off they went, closing the door behind them. We looked at each other and began jumping for joy, relishing our accomplishment of freedom! We had really, really made it! It was almost unbelievable - too good to be true almost - there had to be a catch. Through all adversities, we had truly weathered the storms. Maybe Peggy was right - Time does bring everything to those who wait!

Hidden from society in our private world. The big difference now - this actually was our world! Complete with our own private walls - no one to monitor our actions, our words, our love. With absolutely no one to hide from, we were finally free “to just be” - as long as we were alone, that is. Yes, we had finally made it, but the cold, hard facts remained - society still forced us to live in secret. Even in our own home, we had to keep up appearances. Not only for parents, but friends, and co-workers alike. We were detaching from our parent's umbilical cord, but not even close to being totally free in the real world. Reality was, we still had to hide, even in the safety of our own home. That was just a fact of this lifestyle. But at least we could live it together now. Her and I against the world! And with that, we finally exhaled.

The next day our doorbell rang, a delivery man, standing outside our door, holding a planter in his hands. It was from my parents. The small card attached read: “Lisa and Selina, Welcome to your new home! Love Mom and Dad”. That simple card, with few words, meant the world to me. Although unspoken, it was finally proof they had accepted us. All those years of yearning for simple approval, especially from my mom, had finally come full circle. And in that moment, while reading that card, I felt a smidgen of acceptance and support coming from the only people I really ever needed it from - all this time.

That's all any kid ever wants in life, really - to be accepted by the people that brought them into this world. Pretty easy, you'd think. So why does it have to be so hard sometimes? I still have that card to this day, and every time I look at it, a lump forms in my throat and tears instantly well up in my eyes. It still packs the same punch it did years ago. A pretty powerful 2”x 3” piece of paper, huh?