BasketBaller

George Washington University in DC has told the students not to come back after spring break, the rest of the semester will be taught online. And they've cancelled graduation. The Naval Academy hasn't gone that far yet, but my son will be home for an extra two weeks and they've hinted graduation may not happen. My older son's girlfriend who's at GW Law says the rumor is that everyone has to leaved the dorms because they may be needed for overflow of the hospital.

I think it is, at least in my experience. Being fucked missionary-style on my back and having the top lean down to kiss me deeply is amazing. But yes, relative heights can make it easier with some guys than others. And if I'm lucky we both reach a point where we're panting too hard to kiss!

There are several qualities that I want a top to have. Patience, at least at first, the ability to read my reactions and respond to them, imagination (I like variety in positions and rhythm), and stamina (I, ahem, like long sessions or more than one round). Size matters some but it's far more important that he knows what to do with it. And I prefer guys who get super hard. I'm not interested in him being dominant, but if he's got what it takes and is making my eyes roll back, I go more or less into a trance so he'll be making the decisions from that point on.

Kissing is important to me, and a sexual encounter that didn't include deep, passionate kissing would seem incomplete.

Thanks, he's working hard but loving it!

And to follow up, the twins have apparently talked every day since, with DePaul twin trying to rationally make his point that this is a very dangerous job and that he should think hard before trying for it, and Navy Twin rationally saying he hasn't made a final decision but that it's also an important job that someone will have to do. The Naval Academy has a plethora of mottoes and slogans, but one which NT used on his brother is "If not me, who?" If he isn't selected for EOD someone else will be and take the risks. And if he can do the job as well or better, how can he not try? That apparently mollified DePaul Twin, at least some. He doesn't seem to have gotten emotional during these Skype sessions the way he did with me on the phone. I had a long talk with my father, who has known EOD officers over the years. His response? "Good for him."

Another long gap, but no real changes to report until now. Older Brother is working on the Hill as a legislative assistant to a Congressperson he really likes, probably more of a resume-building job than a career, but who knows? He and his gf spend most weekends at her place, and now that he's working he's made noise about them moving in together when she starts her second year of law school in the fall. DePaul Twin is enjoying life, "kind of" seeing a girl in Chicago but, I think, mostly playing the field a bit. Navy Twin and his gf were both in town last weekend for the Presidents Day holiday, and are as serious as ever. The boys are all taller than me, and the twins are now taller than their brother, to which his response was, "Well, this is annoying." And the news? Navy Twin and his gf, Older Brother and I were having brunch after church on Sunday, and I asked if there was anything new. Next semester he'll indicate his preference for Service Community, and he'd been vacillating between aviation and the Marines. Like all military jobs there are risks and dangers, and I've always known that. So he casually informed me that he'd been doing the screening, and was probably putting in for EOD as his first choice. Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Explosive. Ordnance. Disposal. You know, like Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker, but sometimes underwater in scuba gear. GF shot me a pleading look that seemed to say "Would you talk him the @#$%^ out of this??" But Older Brother said "Cool, " and carried on, and I asked a few questions but was so surprised it wasn't anything very cogent. Now, I've always known this career would put him in harm's way. My dad was a Surface Warfare Officer and was deployed several times when I was a kid, and I know my mom worried about him constantly. The Marines would scarcely have been a "safe" choice, but I wasn't picturing something quite so explodey. But he's brave and wants to do the most he can and if this is where the Navy wants him I'll deal with it. There's no guarantee he'll get his first choice, and EOD is highly competitive, but he thinks his chances are good. That evening I got a call from DePaul Twin, not a text or email so that means it's serious. He had been told and was beside himself. "PLEASE talk him out of it", he said, and "he can't, he just can't," I tried to assure him he'd be okay and we need to support him, and he started to cry. "What will I do if something happens to him?" and a lot of other things he's probably been holding in ever since his twin entered the Academy. I just listened, and then tried to be comforting, but he wasn't happy when he hung up. Never a dull moment. Never.

Playing sports in high school and the first years of college it was always a jockstrap. The last year or two of college most guys had transitioned to compression shorts, and that's what I wear today to workout in. Never a thong.

Happy holidays to all! I have all the brood at home, going to my folks' later on. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my coming out to my sons. I imagine that will get brought up...

My son is in what was Ensign Watson's company at the Naval Academy. He didn't know him well, but each company bonds pretty closely. They are heartbroken.

Well, a loo-oong hiatus in this thread, but in my saga of the boys' lives I mentioned I'd been seeing someone on and off. We met doing volunteer work at Walter Reed Military Hospital, bringing meals to those staying at the Fisher Houses, home-like places where families of people in the hospital for a long time can stay, and those doing rehab for a long time as well. So lots of wounded veterans with their spouses, and sometimes with their children, along with retirees being treated for cancer and such things. About 20 of us go once a month. There was a very friendly guy, great at talking with the vets and their families, and I liked him, but as I've said, I have zero gaydar, I had no idea he was gay. Mid-30s, I thought, although I later learned he was closer to my age, about my height, very much a "guy next door" type. nice-looking and fit but not model-handsome. We talked about work a couple of times, he heard a lot about the boys, and he said he'd never been married but came close once. After a few months, we were the last ones to leave one time, and he suggested going for a beer. Sure. So we each drove down into Bethesda and went to a way-too-hip for us pub and shot the breeze. And eventually the light dawned even on me that he was flirting a bit, holding eye contact and smiling and sometimes just looking at me without saying anything. I, yes, blushed, I think, but I responded in kind. By now I thought of him as a friend and didn't want to make it awkward, but clearly we were both thinking the same thing-- this could work. Finally he said he had an early day the next day, but when can we do this again? I gulped and said, I'm flexible, and he said, "That's good to know." GULP! So we made a date-- a date!-- for the next weekend, went to a play downtown (George Bernard Shaw's Candida, a play about marriage and love...), held hands walking back to the car (I had picked him up) and when we got to his place, a condo in Columbia Heights, there was an open parking space in front. He invited me in. I said yes. This was late September, and we've been seeing each other ever since, not every week, but now and then. It's odd in a way that I'm not feeling "love" so much as comfort. He's a good, good guy, he works at a great non-profit, and at this point I'd say we're close friends with benefits taking our time. Before you ask, we are very compatible sexually, he's a total top and I'm happy on the bottom so that works. One thing that may be TMI-- he's bigger than I'm used to. My first couple of hires were very hung guys because that fascinated me in porn, but since then I've generally been with more average-sized men. He is not average and it has taken some getting used to. But he knows he's big and he's sensitive and patient so it's been good, and as I say, I'm getting used to it!

I'll revive my other thread, about my baby steps into a gay social life and give the story there, so this thread focuses more on the boys and their growing independence. Watch that space!

The irony of my determination to NOT be gay is that it drove me to sports, where I changed and showered with other boys/young men nearly every day for maybe 15 years. My response was to avoid looking at anyone as much as I could and if I got to feeling "funny" I changed quickly and left, because, you know, I was NOT attracted to males. I now ever so slightly regret not glancing around a bit, since there were guys I remember as hot but I have no real idea what they looked like naked, even though we were naked together all the time.

All too true. I really never doubted my sons' acceptance but thought it might take time. And I did not expect their immediate support, and how strong it would be. Lots of worry I shouldn't have bothered with. But of course, I spent years in denial to myself, and I suppose I knew once I told them I had to truly accept it all myself. I know that sounds odd, I'd been having sex with men for ten years, but I think their was a tiny corner of my mind that was still refusing to accept the truth.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. The boys are all home and we went to my folks' for dinner. Navy Twin's girlfriend was there, and the two of them went to her family's later dinner! Older Brother's GF is with her family in Boston, and I think he would have gone there, but he had to go into the office he's interning at today. OB spends most weekends at his girlfriend's place, from Friday evening to Sunday. Navy Twin and his long distance romance seem to be thriving, and I know she's gone to Annapolis a time or two for a weekend. I haven't asked if he stays at her motel if he can get overnight liberty, but it wouldn't surprise me. And DePaul Twin seems to be playing the field in Chicago, at least a bit. I have been seeing someone on and off for a couple of months. I don't think it's serious but we're having a good time. Older Brother has met him and likes him. What a change from the past! I met the guy doing volunteer work at Walter Reed, with a group that serves meals at the Fisher Houses. He works for a non-profit, is about a year younger than me, and is very handsome-- I think some of the women in the group are jealous of us hanging out together. Older Brother spending weekends at GW means I can have him over or go to his place with impunity-- I have not yet brought a guy home with any of the boys here but I have stayed out. (I always let them know if I won't be coming home, LOL.) Have a good weekend all. We'll watch Navy play Houston Saturday all together with a bunch of their friends over.

It's been years since I've had it since the bakery that always carried it during the holidays has closed, but my grandparents always had Nesselrode pie on Christmas. I hated it as a kid-- too much rum-- but loved it when I got older. I think it would be a bear to make at home. Custard, chestnuts, dried fruit, rum or brandy, etc. Hmm, maybe I'll try to make it this year... http://www.thedomesticfront.com/forgotten-pleasures-nesselrode-pie/

The first escort I ever hired was John from Atlanta, formerly Smalltown John. We had communicated extensively about my lack of experience, etc, and made an appointment for an afternoon session when my kids would be in school. That morning, I got a call saying one of the boys had gotten sick and needed to go home. I nervously called John to explain, assuming he'd think I was flaking-- and he couldn't have been nicer. He said he completely understood and asked if I wanted to reschedule. We did, for two days later (a weekend so I had to hire a baby sitter) and it was completely awesome.

Former military dependent children, of any age, often call other people sir or ma'am out of habit.

I think it may be happening because of the growing trend of tapas/small plate menus where dishes are brought out when they're ready. But if it's not that lind of place, it shouldn't happen.

I dressed as a neighborhood dad giving out candy. I think it was pretty convincing- no candy was left at the end of the evening.

I remember studying Pinter in college and discussing how he indicates pauses and silences throughout his plays. There's one famous stage direction that says "Pause. Silence."

He was on Scruff just last week, with a listing that made clear he expected to be compensated for his time. That may have gotten him booted since it was not subtle. I haven't seen him there since.

I haven't been to Lauriol Plaza in a long time, but it used to be good and it's very popular so I assume it still is. It's hard to park near it, though! I hear good things about the Double T Diners but haven't been there as far as I remember.

Thanks as always for the kind comments. And to be clear those preferences are not set in stone, I've been smitten with guys who are very different. An anecdote. Before leaving, DePaul Twin and I took him to get some new clothes for the year, and we ate lunch at a great sandwich place in DC's Friendship Heights called Booeymonger. While we were eating a guy came in who was not particularly tall and not blond, but very attractive-- broad shoulders, which are another big thing for me. As he walked to the counter to order, I guess I checked him out obviously enough so that when I looked back at my son he was grinning from ear to ear and shaking his head. I think I blushed. DePaul Twin looked over at him, turned back and gave me a thumbs-up. Then the guy's girlfriend or wife joined him in line., and Twin sighed and went back to eating. Not all conversations are verbal.

I thought I was supposed to adopt you!