Coming Out

My parents did not fully support me when I "came out." In fact, the first reaction from my father was, "If you bring a woman to this house, don't bother coming!" I was hurt and I responded with, "I won't." Then 10 minutes later, my father asked me if I was hungry. 😀 I knew then, he loved me no matter what. I learned "father speak". You know, when parents do certain things to get around actually saying "I love you" but you know they love you. It was a rough couple of years to get it through my mom's head that this wasn't just a friend or a "phase."

And because I didn't get a loving and supporting response, I decided to do a “Coming Out” party for myself years later. I invited my cousin who is a fantastic videographer from Cali to film it! It was such a blast.

Coming Out Video by DXPERTIMAGE.COM

There was even an updated Jay Victoria logo at the end (we didn't stick with the second version). In reality, my parents probably will never fully and truly accept me for loving a woman and that’s okay. However, they have come to love Jamie, my wife.

Building Relationship With Mom Recently

I've been building my relationship with my parents and I have never been happier. They both had COVID-19 and I was devasted in fear that they might die. My mom said it feels like dying. The brain gets numb, you don’t eat, you lose tastebuds, and you feel weak. This put me down for days.

I call mom almost every day now and talk to her for hours these past few weeks. Listening and laughing at her stories brings me so much joy. Through our talk, I found her passion for philanthropy. She feels strongly about the poverty in her home country and wanted to help fund the school she attended in Laos 🇱🇦. She graduated up to the 3rd grade. Crises open up opportunities. I found an opportunity to build my relationship with my mom. There will be more food gatherings, more story sharing, and more fishing with my dad.

- Souphak