I was there, I remember

I was homeschooled, but my foster brothers elementary school gym teacher was a powerfully lesbian lesbian woman with a flat top haircut and a penchant for flannel in the middle of the summer in coastal Virginia. She lived a few doors down from us, and would come by occasionally for cookouts and stuff. I loved her so much, she was amazing. She was also one of the first people to clock me as gay. I didn't even know I was gay, but I still distinctly remember her giving me a hug one day when this boy I wanted to be friends with told me he didn't want to be friends with me. Looking back, it was so obviously a crush, but I didn't realize it then. She was outside when she overheard the two of us, we'd been riding bikes. She hugged me, told me that not everyone can love everyone, and that it was okay. I'd find more and better friends, and when I got older, I'd be able to tell who the good ones were. It was like a pre gay pep talk, and she was so kind.

Wow, have you tried reaching out to her again? She seems to be a wonderful person, and I’m sure you both would love to catch up.

Hell yeah, Ms. Showalter was the shit. It didn't matter that you were 9, there were fitness standards to meet, and she'd be damned if any of us bastards were going to bring her numbers down. That was my first experience with an educator who pushed you when you didn't believe you could do it and hyped you up when you finally did. She was so gruff, but we all loved her and swarm her at school events, even when she'd pretend she didn't like all the love 😂.