If you asked me a year ago, I never would’ve given much thought to what the term, “gay lifestyle” implied.  Or maybe I would have had a stereotypical reaction to the phrase.  You know, depending on how it’s said, it invokes images of promiscuity, wild partying, etc.  Several months ago someone used this term to apply to how I am living now.  It definitely took me aback!  It certainly got me thinking about the different (?) life I’m living now, as opposed to before I came out.  So, I’d like to give everyone a little peek into our gay lifestyle.  Hold on to your seats, my friends!

Before I entered the “gay lifestyle”, I was mostly a stay at home mom, did a few hobbies and part-time small business on the side, owned a home, a truck, lived in a small town, had girl nights out where we complained about our husbands, went to church, studied devotions, you know, pretty low key.

Here’s what it looks like today:

Wake up
Do devotions
Cook a paleo breakfast for 8-9 people
Do a load of laundry
Get the kids out the door for school
Kiss my partner-for-life goodbye on her way to work (er, there it is, folks!)
Clean up breakfast
Take care of little people that are still at home
Do laundry
Think of and prepare dinner
Potty train
Read books
Church on Sundays
Feed snacks
Text my sweetie a couple times throughout the day
More laundry
Help with homework
Serve a paleo dinner to 7-12 people
Put kids to bed
Go for a run
Do more laundry
Watch a show with my sweetie
Love up/chat with my sweetie
Fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow

Gonna give everyone a minute to settle back down from the shock of it all before I go on….

Deep breath….

But seriously, here a few things that have changed:

We travel more.

We have guests over more.

Our house is more orderly.

I do my grocery shopping now at Walmart.  I feel like this is a confession more than anything.  If we ever talk about sins, this is clearly one of the bigger sins in life (biblically speaking, selfishness outranks the rest).  Sure, I have a great excuse now, a large family, single income.  But let’s be real.  It’s gluttony, greed, entitlement, ignoring the fact that I’m getting a great price at the cost of 3rd world people.

I traded in my 2012 Toyota Tundra for a 2003 Chevy Suburban.  Again, both are pretty gluttonous, but I feel like Toyotas, in general, are less sinful.  But we can fit a lot more people.  And we paid cash for it.  So maybe that’s a wash.

There is a bit more laundry in this new lifestyle.  Mostly because of an extra kiddo, but women do have a tendency to want to wear a new outfit (or 3) EVERY day!  (So, I guess extra laundry is a direct result of the new lifestyle).

The other biggest change is that I’m more committed to the traditional role of supporting my partner.  I’ve always been an at-home mom, and didn’t mind working before I had kids, but at times felt like fighting the role.  Now, that role assumption has been lifted and yet I still choose it.  I love being the one who can stay home, cook healthy meals, make sure everyone has clean clothes, pack a lunch for my partner, and thank her for working hard to support the family.  The resentment of that is gone, maybe because I’ve recommitted to it, or maybe because it’s not something I feel like I “have to” do.

It’s hard to picture any of this as anything but ordinary, normal, day to day life.  We love it, our little slice of paradise.  I think we’ll just call it, “living the good life”.