I've been slowly coming out to my close friends and family. As I have been dating men, it's eventually going to be obvious I'm not straight, so I would rather be up front with those who are closest to me. I've overcome all of the easy hurdles and found acceptance from everyone so far. However, there are three people in particular that I'm not looking forward to telling, and my orientation is not something I'm going to hide.

One is my brother, who is very religious. However, he has been mostly accepting of LGBTQ folks, especially since his granddaughter came out as a lesbian. He is the least concerning of the three, plus his daughter has my back. I just don't know how he will react.

One is my sister, who's also religious, has said pretty disappointing things about queer folk, and may just try to get me to a church to "fix" me. I don't think she will disown me, but I would rather not go through the song and dance she may use in response.

Last is my mother, who's Catholic. Sure, she had a gay bestie growing up, but I'm don't think she would take it well finding out I'm bi. The worst of it is when she gets an idea on her head, she never lets it go, and we all fear she's going to blame my divorce on my sexuality.

I also have a feeling they'll say I'm "suddenly" bi, not realizing I struggled with coming to terms with my orientation for decades. If anyone has any pointers, I'd love to hear them.