Happy Mothers' Day

May 14, 2006

Well - I am on my way home to Iowa for several days to see my Mom, the dogs, etc. It will be nice to get out of town for several days and get away from all the hassles of city living. A change of scenery will do my peace of mind some good, too. My life has alternated between hectic and dull with not much inbetween since I found out I am positive. So going to the old home will be a nice change of pace.

I - like most people - love my parents very much. Things with them aren't always easy, but that is life. They are good people and I am glad to consider them friends as well as parents. If an adult child can do this, then they had successful parents and are themselves successful as their children. Not everyone has this, so it's time to say thanks if you are able.

Having said that - I don't think it's time to tell my folks about my HIV status. They are typical Iowans - nothing wrong with that at all - but the image they have of HIV is the early days of AIDS. Seeing what they went through when my sister was killed in a car accident, leads me to believe that they would be extremely distressed by the news. I can't assure them right now that everything will be ok with me, so I prefer to wait until I have more information. It wouldn't be fair of me to be home for 2 or 3 days, drop the bombshell, and then have to leave them to come back to Chicago - knowing that they would be worried sick.

I hope to tell them when I have more information and can be reasonably certain that I will continue to live in good health.