So naturally Armenian families are generally large. I used to think that my family was fairly small. It consisted of my mom’s side where I had 1 uncle, 2 aunts, and 4 cousins. On my dad’s side I had 3 uncles and 1 aunt, and 7 cousins also. I naturally also had my 3 grandparents and 3 younger brothers. All of this changed when I got introduced to my dad’s side of the family up here in Nor Cal.
I was introduced to my dad’s cousin up here in Nor Cal and I immediately became fresh meat for the Armenian community up here. I’ve already been to one dinner party in which I met over 10 people and learned the names of over 10 more and how each person was related to each other and what each person did. My family more than doubled in size in one day just by opening up my eyes. And this is only my dad’s side! I asked my mom about the rest of her side of the family and apparently they are all scattered throughout the world. Most are either in Jordan or Iraq and my mom doesn’t know about their statuses or something has happened that she doesn’t know about. I feel like I am missing a part of me with them so far apart. My dad’s side seemed pretty cool though. I see better now where he gets certain characteristics and where I get some of mine. Naturally during this family gathering I stayed in the closet in order to first test out how liberal they were. They seemed to be socially liberal and economically conservative, but I still haven’t figured it out. Even though they seemed cool, I still stayed in the closet. Oh the woes of being a gay Armenian. Maybe one of these days I will tell them, but for now my lips are sealed.
Unspoken,
-The Cali Garmo
The Californian Garmo Lives Life 