Slumber Sagas: Back to Blog

So for a variety of reasons, I have been quite MIA from the blogging world. Things including non-functioning camera, no time, feeling like blogger takes FOREVER to upload things, no consistent computer/laptop, and no photo-editing software.

Well I still feel like I have no time, but I have all of the other stuff and REALLY want to share tidbits about my family's life with more of my family and friends who live far away and/or don't use facebook! Especially my Grandpa Bob, Aunt Joan & Uncle Dean, Aunt Barbara, and my Oma.

Tomorrow's Labor Day so I don't have to go to my job at Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands where I am the Advocate Counselor. See my Staff Profile HERE.

I provide therapy to survivors of sexual assault ages 12 and up. I also have a specialization of trying to make STSM's services more sensitive to the LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trangender and Queer) survivors. This means I've also been serving on Task force with other agencies in our community including police, forensic nurses, other social workers, etc., to provide effective interventions and build a support group for LGBTQ persons who have or are experiencing Inter-Personal Violence (Sort of like domestic violence, abuse, or sexual violence). This task force is led from the Gay and Lesbian Center here in Columbia, SC (YES, I did just say there is a Gay and Lesbian Center in Columbia, SOUTH CAROLINA). It's called Harriet Hancock Center. If the name sounds peculiar here's the explanation:

  In 1982, not long after her son came out to her, Harriet founded the Columbia chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) – the first PFLAG chapter in South Carolina. She soon became a quite visible and active public spokesperson, combating prejudices and stereotypes in Columbia. Since then she founded or co-founded four state organizations that have made South Carolina a better place for gays, lesbians, their families, and people living with AIDS. She helped organize Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services (PALSS) in 1985 and the first South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride March in 1991.   In 1997, Harriet received the Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national LGBT organization in the US.

And one of the BEST honors in my opinion was that last year Harriet received a personal invitation from President Barak Obama to attend a reception at the White House in Washington, DC in honor of LGBT Pride Month and got to meet the President in a private session before his public speech. Some people affectionately call her “Mother of Pride,” or “Mama H”, and she truly is a surrogate mother to many of the LGBTQ community here who have lost their families and friends because of who they are and who they love.

It's wonderful working with some amazing people committed to growth, healing, and change at both STSM and Harriet Hancock Center! I've had a lot of changes in my life over the last year and a half but certainly for the better!

One of the best changes on my home front was moving into a little 3 bedroom house in West Columbia with my girlfriend, Nicole, and her daughter, Tori!

Eliza and Tori are the BEST of friends, which is sooo fantastic! I never believed my mom when she said that having two kids is easier than one but it's TOTALLY true. They entertain each other to no end!

And then I got in a terrible accident on the day I was moving into the house (accident not my fault), and my Subaru was totalled, and I had to get a new car. Behold: