Had enough angst? Good! Today I’m going to just share a funny. Because what separates LGBT people from the world is the perception that we’re so much different than everyone. We’re not. We have just plain stories that have nothing to do with being gay or transgender.

In 2006 I got married. A big wedding for these parts (50 people). And when I say these parts, I mean the boonies of Sweden. Way out there. My parents came and my two best friends-Troy and Gene. Troy was my best man and Gene was one of my husband’s groomsmen. So they got the special treatment.

The day before our wedding, we all were gathered at the in-laws. In their house. T&G were introduced to my MIL and FIL and everyone, really. My in-laws have this big yellow house, and, we’re talking Sweden here, so almost all the houses are yellow, white or red. I saw a green house once, but I’m pretty sure the neighbors buried the owners and repainted it because I could never find it again. The colors are important, I promise.

So back to our wedding day, which started out at 6 in the morning and Troy zombie walking to the big tent where we were setting things up. He was hungry and bleary-eyed and just very Troy-in-the-morning. Rather than have him pass out in my lap, I sent him to get breakfast from my mother-in-law in the yellow house (do you know where this is going?), who was whipping up something in between making a cake for later. (yes, she is superwoman!)

An hour later, Troy comes back to the tent and he’s happy and sated and talking about how my MIL made waffles with ice cream and jam and he had a great time.

Gene and I are looking at him, wondering how on earth my MIL managed to do that while baking a cake and getting ready for her son’s wedding. And Gene, of course, is incensed, because all he got was Swedish hard bread (wassa crackers) and cheese and coffee. And he wants waffles GDI!

So Troy points to the house next to the tent and says there’s still waffles there. (And now you now where this is going). Turns out, Troy had just visited the neighbors who were outside making waffles and having a private party. And Swedish people being, well, SWEDISH, they said nothing as he sat down to breakfast with them and ate their waffles and ice cream and jam and basically talked to them for like an hour.

The whole village talks about this incident to this day.