Each times she calls me, there are two alternating subjects on her radar: my personal life and politics. Her model of perfect happiness is for me to be a suburban mom somewhere in Bakersfield with big van, three kids, a Labrador puppy, and a husband with a good job and strong family values. In addition, my perfect family should live across the street from my mom’s house, and on Sunday mornings we all should go to the local Catholic church.

Actually, there is nothing wrong about this;  my mom and dad were perfectly happy this way all there lives. Most of my friends complain that they come from dysfunctional families. I come from a perfectly nice family, maybe too nice. When I look back at my childhood it appears almost surrealistic. I am sure that the “Brady Bunch” movie was inspired by my parents; the fact that it was a satire on middle class values never even crossed their minds. Good for them….

But in reality I am 31 years old and single and share an apartment with a gay guy, a fish tank, and a sexually obsessive dog. We may be misfits according to some people’s standards, but we don’t care about THOSE people; what we care about is that we LOVE caring for each other.