The Story of the First Night I Spent with My Husband
14 years ago this week, I went to PJ's house for the first time (and spent the night)
Dearest reader,
Happy Tuesday! I want to start off by letting you know we uploaded a new YouTube vlog last week and in it, we’re giving you a tour of our little beach shack and showing you how we spent the week at the beach with both of our moms. You can click here to watch, if you want!
Secondly, this week is the 14th anniversary of the first week we got together!
Every year when this time comes around, it feels harder and harder to fathom we’ve been together this long. At the same time, it’s hard to remember my life before PJ. Before him I wasn’t out, and didn’t think I would ever have the courage to ever come out to anyone. I thought I would have to marry a woman, because that’s what you do (did?) in our town, and spend my life hiding who I was from my loved ones. Before him, I didn’t think it was possible to be openly gay in a small, southern town. Before him, I didn’t know two men could have a family and raise children and build a life together.
Before him, my life felt colorless, and now, every day (even the hard days) is bursting with a kaleidoscope of different colors and it’s all thanks to him. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t fight the very real fear I had at the thought of telling anyone I was gay and if didn’t end up going over to his house that night.
All week I was a nervous wreck. I was sick for days after just texting him and confiding in him that I was bi (which was a soft launch into the “I’m gay” discussion). I was terrified someone would find out, that he would tell his friends and it would somehow get back to people in my life, and then my world would come crashing down because surely I couldn’t face them after they knew who I really was.
I was 19 and telling my family and friends that I was gay was something I never in a million years thought would ever come to fruition, though I had dreamt about it for pretty much forever. Would they still love me? Would they realize that I’m still the exact same person they’ve always known, they just know me a little better now?
So many thoughts. So many questions. And it all began on this night, August 24th, 2010, when I drove my old, beat up car over to PJ McKay’s 600 sq ft house for the first time. Yesterday PJ actually found an old calendar with this day highlighted and it had little notes scribbled on it like, “Tom Tom came over” and, the next day on the 25th, “Texted with Tom Tom all day” which I think is so cute. Can you tell we’re extremely sentimental people? Some might even call it nauseating, haha.
What’s equally wild and sad, is that he had our first ever phone conversation recorded on his old camera. He was filming himself when I called and told him I was on my way over that first night, and we chatted for a few minutes. The sad part is his camera was stolen years ago so that footage is lost. I would love the chance to watch it even just one more time!
All of this to say, this week holds a special place in my heart and our history as a couple. It’s the beginning of this whole journey, really. And though I have shared this story before on our blog, I wanted to leave it here to live, too. It feels too important not to.
OKAY! Let’s get to it
Watch: Interview with the Vampire
This show on AMC intrigued both of us when it came out two years ago, and we actually watched the first episode at the beach back then. Now it’s premiered on Netflix as part of a deal that AMC+ and Netflix struck, and we’re so happy it did. This show, based on Anne Rice’s 1976 novel of the same name, is pure camp, and leans into its queer storytelling much more than the 1994 film version did. The show is set in New Orleans, so the set pieces and costumes are gorgeous. It feels like the perfect fall/Halloween show to watch this time of year. Highly recommend!
You can watch Interview with the Vampire on AMC+ and season 1 on Netflix.
Read: 50 Years Later: Remembering How the Future Looked in 1974
Via Kottke.org, back in 1974, the Saturday Review asked some of the top thinkers of that time what they thought the world would look like 50 years from now, in 2024, and the predictions are fascinating to read. Regarding computers, nuclear scientist/human rights activist Andrei Sakharov envisioned “the creation of a single global telephone and videophone system … a universal information system which will give everyone access at any given moment to the contents of any book that has ever been published or any magazine or any fact.”
You can click here to read the entire thing.
Listen: Short n’ Sweet
We really got into Sabrina Carpenter’s last album, Emails I Can’t Send, while at the beach this summer. It served as the unofficial soundtrack while we spent our days lounging in the sand, so we had high hopes for this new album (as did what feels like the entire world). I’m happy to report that Ms. Carpenter did not disappoint! This album is pure pop fun, mixed with some country (!) and a lot of hilarious, cheeky lyrics. My favorite songs are Slim Pickins, Good Graces, Bed Chem, Juno, and Please Please Please. There’s honestly not a skip on this entire album.
You can listen to Short n’ Sweet wherever you get your music
The First Night I Ever Spent with My Husband
14 years ago this week, on August 24th, 2010 to be exact, we spent the night together for the first time in PJ’s 600 sq ft house after texting each other for two days straight. How has it already been 14 years? At the same time, it feels like it’s been 100 years. Here’s how it all went down…