There’s more to the awkward phase than just clothes that never fit quite right, pimples that never fully go away, and your first pair of glasses. There’s also the matter of all those new feelings to explore and figure out.
Now, chances are we all have a cringe-worthy memory or two of those times that occasionally will keep us up at night. But hopefully, we’re all more like Grant Ginder, who can look back on his formative years and laugh along with us.
Grant is, at present, the author of two novels: The People We Hate At The Wedding, and Honestly, We Meant Well.
But back in the 1990s, he was just another hormone-filled teenager in the days of dial-up internet.
It was quite a time for a boy to become a man, and for National Coming Out Day, he decided to share one of his more uncomfortable recollections on Twitter.
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As one had to do in the ’90s, he searched the early internet for his new and undeniable interests.
Remember, there was a time before Eric Cartman appropriated the term “beefcake” for all of eternity. Yes, it was another era, before anyone learned to hide their tracks when indulging in their internet “me time.”
So, of course, on the family computer, it didn’t take a Matlock to find a teenager’s stash of NSFW happy fun pics.
Now, credit to Grant’s dad here: he found the pics, and he didn’t freak out.
He didn’t create a huge scene, which he easily could have, and destroyed the kid’s fragile self-esteem. Instead, he found a nice, quiet moment with a meaningful soundtrack and simply asked a question.
Which is not to say that it wasn’t an intensely uncomfortable moment all the same.
Can you imagine? I mean, what else was poor Grant going to say?
Well, maybe he could have not thrown his mom under the bus, but it’s definitely understandable for a 13-year-old caught in the headlights to deflect as best he could.
Was he proud? No. Did he successfully cover? Also no.
I mean, does anybody really think his dad believed his mom was the one labeling pics “beefcake” in a folder on the family computer?
But the old man let it slide!
So, did Grant ever live down the embarrassment of that stoplight interrogation?
Well, obviously he remembers it clearly, but the fact that his dad let him be himself probably went a long way for him. And it’s clear that he can look back on it and laugh now — and so can his parents.
And don’t think he doesn’t know how big a debt he owes to his mom in particular.
The lady not only took the heat, she later backed up his taste in dudes! What a woman. Kind of makes you wonder if she really would have claimed those beefcake pics as her own, if she had to.
Probably the best part about Grant’s story is that so many people on Twitter could relate.
Whether gay or straight, everybody could recall a time when they miiiiight have passed along the blame for something they didn’t want their folks to know about, and not always in the most credible ways.
Nobody’s perfect, especially not at 13!
Of course, Grant’s parents earned plenty of praise from folks on Twitter as well.
See? The ’90s weren’t exactly the Dark Ages, despite the dial-up internets and the JNCO jeans and the frosted tips. There were good people out there!
