One of those Special Moments...

So...I was just sitting here in the recliner...the sun went down around four p.m....that's Minneapolis in winter for you. Sandie...you know her...the Homely Dog...was cradled in my arm...her eyes liquid brown...always seemingly on the edge of tears...which is funny...considering that she was chewing on my fingers and not the other way around. My Christmas gift from Andrea was playing in the background...the full Broadway soundtrack to Rent...and for a moment...just a few seconds really...everything in the world was just right. You know those moments...when everything seems content...the light...the clothes you are in...your spirit...you aren't too full...not hungry...and you just smile...for no reason...other than the moment demands it. Thanks Sandie...more proof that some friends are a tad bit furrier than others.

Today was a little bit super special for me. I got an email today from my step-Mom Melanie. Melanie nee Mandich now Melanie Quillin and  previously Melanie Strother (a la the Step Father) is perhaps one of the best people-gifts that God has ever brought into my life. She is one of the sweetest, gentlest, strongest women I have ever met...she has this inherent ability to make everything and everyone around her feel comforted...which is probably why they picked her to be the person in Crow Wing County to fetch the crazies and get them into the state hospital. Well...she used to do that...now she helps folks that have chemical dependency issues...and God knows the Step Father gave her enough experience with that first hand to qualify her to run a rehabilitation center herself. I'm sure she walked into her Chem Dep Counselor trainings courses...and they just stamped her approved.

Getting an email from Melanie was the best Christmas present I could have gotten. Because not only did I get to reconnect with Mel...but I also now can reconnect with my little sister Ella and my little brother Clinton and my step-sister Meta...that I owe lots of love and apologies...because while she was a total spoiled brat when I met her...she sure as heck didn't deserve me picking fights with her as my way of getting my frustration out from the Step Father. Meta and I warred at times...and it was generally my fault...generally...sometimes she was pretty evil all on her own...but most of the time...it was my feeling of powerlessness...and resenting that the Step Father never dared lay a hand on her...at least that I knew about.

Mel told me that my little brother Clinton has just finished his first semester of college...the last time I saw him he was about five or six and the last time I saw my sister Ella she was around the same age (she's a year younger than Clinton, Jr.). This is what I have been waiting for and praying for...for a long time...that as an adult I would have a chance to build relationships with my little brothers and sisters...relationships that were made impossible by distance and circumstances. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much though...they may not really remember much about me or my brother Jason.  But I sure as heck am going to try.

In addition to the mini-electronic family reunion...I had an awesome afternoon with Quiana and Matthias. They took me to lunch at a new Creole restaurant in town...and asked me to be the officiator type person at their wedding. They aren't having a wedding seeing as how they can't get legally married...damn this country...but they are going to have a great out door ceremony...and they asked that I be the person who stands up front and facilitates things getting done. I asked if I could give a good old fashioned Southern Baptist sermon...and they didn't say no ;-) Hehehe. But they did say that I could say some words and stuff....AWWWWWW YEAH! They don't know that I'm bringing a gospel choir, a jeri curl wig, and a complete stage play for their enjoyment. This could be my big break! Hehehehe.

So...today has been a good day. This trip home has been down right awesome. And tonight I'm going to see a drag show. A REAL LIVE DRAG SHOW! I swear...they must have outlawed Drag Queens in Albuquerque...because while trannies seem to walk freely down the streets...they seem to treat gay clubs and stages like vampires do a garlic farm.  And dammit...I WANNA SEE A SHOW! So...I'm going to wrap this up...dip myself in a warm bath...read some Chronicles of Narnia...finish up this fantastic soundtrack...and relax knowing that I am...without a doubt...loved. And that is a feeling that drugs, sex, or money just can't buy.