Dear Amy: My son “Jack” is 26 years old. Five years ago, he came out to me as gay. While this didn’t fully surprise me, it saddened me. I wanted Jack to have a traditional life. I wanted to have grandchildren.

Despite these feelings, I told him I accepted him.

Jack has lived on his own for the past several years. Recently he told me that he has been in a relationship with “Samuel” for six months. He also asked if I would be OK with him bringing Samuel home to a family function. Not knowing how to respond, I said it was fine.

While Samuel seemed nice enough, I was not prepared for the feelings that seeing them dance together and be affectionate would bring up in me.

I thought about what others were thinking. I wondered what I may have done that contributed to him being this way. I felt anger at Jack’s father for never being a positive male role model or steady presence in his life. I thought about his safety with STDs that run rampant in the gay community as well as violence toward gay men that seem to happen regularly.

I tried to play the role of the accepting mom at the party. I’m embarrassed to talk to anyone in the family about this. My daughter seems completely fine with it. I just will never be the totally accepting mom who goes to gay pride parades with her son. Will it ever get easier?

— Prideless Mom

Dear Prideless: Yes, this will get easier. One way to make things easier would be for you to stop thinking of your son’s sexuality as “it,” and start thinking of his sexuality as “Jack.”

My point is that you can’t separate a person’s identity from the person.

Many of your concerns are actually distortions. Jack can have what you refer to as a “traditional life,” with marriage and children. His choice to bring his boyfriend home to meet the family is the essence of “traditional.”

Any sexually active adult (including you) can get an STD. And if you are truly worried about violence against gay people, then be the change you want to see in the world and confront your own homophobia.

The way to make things easier would be for you to increase your exposure to the experience that frightens you.

You should spend more time with Jack and Samuel. Continue to “play the role of the accepting mom.” See how it feels and how others respond to you. Ask Jack if there are ways you could be a more supportive mom to him.

PFLAG.org is a national organization offering support for parents and family members. Their motto is “You are not alone.” You can learn more about sexuality, have your fears addressed and questions answered, and learn from other parents.

Dear Amy: All of the kids in our family were brought up with religion not being a part of our lives.

We are all over 60 now and recently my wife and I were invited over for Easter dinner at my sister’s place.

Suddenly, my brother-in-law starts saying grace.

It’s not important to me, so I just sat there.

After dinner was over, my sister said to me, “You could at least have bowed your head.”

Religion was never a part of our family and I felt it wrong for her to all of a sudden expect me to have to bend to their new beliefs.

I don’t care if they say grace, it’s just not my thing.

Your thoughts?

— No Grace for Me

Dear No Grace: Ironic, isn’t it — that you were guests at this house for Easter dinner, which — last time I checked — is a Christian holiday.

It’s simple good manners to respect other people’s faith practices, especially while in their homes. In my opinion, this respect can be demonstrated by sitting quietly while they say a blessing, and not judging them afterward.

I don’t think it is necessary to bow your head, but would you bow your head if a blessing was being said at a sports stadium? If so, then you should do so at someone’s table.

Dear Amy: I’m just offering an “atta girl” for offering my family so many years of great conversations. We often read your column at the dinner table and then try to guess your response.

— Old Fan

Dear Old Fan: Thank you so much. I love the idea that this column inspires conversations around the kitchen table and in the office breakroom.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

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At Notre Dame, running back Audric Estime was fearsome.

Playing with power and strength, exemplified by his Hulk-like arms, Estime was wrecking a ball, mowing down or even leaping over tacklers that stood in his way.

Even with shorts and a practice jersey during the Broncos’ rookie minicamp on Saturday afternoon, the fifth-round pick still looked like an imposing figure that someone wouldn’t want to get in front of when he’s moving at full speed.

The addition of Estime and undrafted rookie free agent Blake Watson has created an interesting competition within Denver’s running back room that will be closely monitored throughout the team’s offseason program and training camp. The Broncos have Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin already under contract. Still, they added two running backs who have the potential to have key roles in Year 1.

“All these guys, they’re all competing for different roles, spots,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “… I think that we never put a cap on what they’re competing for.”

After the Broncos lacked juice in the run game in 2023, competition was likely needed. Denver finished tied for 21st in yards per carry (four) and 28th in rushing touchdowns (eight). The Broncos rushed for under 100 yards in three of the final four games. Although Williams’ return from a torn ACL was remarkable, he averaged 3.6 yards per carry and didn’t surpass 50 rushing yards in the final four games.

Meanwhile, Perine’s game was limited to third downs and being a check down target.

Estime and Watson present two different skill sets that could be beneficial to Denver’s backfield. Estime is a power back who can generate yards after contact. In 2023, he rushed for 1,348 yards and 18 touchdowns, and in the final college game of his career he exploded for 238 yards and four touchdowns in a win at Stanford last November.

He also accumulated 892 yards after contact (4.27 per attempt) and 38 runs for over 10 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Williams averaged 2.71 yards after contact while Perine had 2.92, according to PFF.

While Payton values Estime’s power and physicality, he is intrigued by Watson’s pass-catching ability. The former Memphis running back caught 53 passes for 480 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 9.1 yards per catch.

Payton didn’t want to compare Watson to Saints running back Alvin Kamara, but both players had similar traits coming out of college.

“We saw a player that was (a) natural catching the ball,” Payton said. “That was a big draw. When we read a player, that was a draw to his vision.”

Denver’s running back competition will be one of the biggest ones to watch. Payton said on the last day of the NFL draft that Estime is viewed as a first- and second-down runner. If he flourished in that role during training camp, what happens to Williams and Perine, both of whom are in the final year of their deals?

Last season, the Broncos carried three running backs and fullback Michael Burton on the initial 53-man roster. Denver could very well have four running backs on the roster. Even still, how they split up the carries and roles is entirely up in the air.

“I want to see it, and then we’ll go by what we see,” Payton said. “That was the case with Jaleel a year ago. He sat here as an undrafted free agent that was going through the workouts, and then pretty soon you began to see it.”

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Waves of color filled the Colorado night sky Friday as the Northern Lights lit up most of the globe in a phenomenon only seen once every two decades or more, according to space weather experts.

Who saw the aurora borealis last night? Some of our deputies were lucky enough to see the light show while on patrol last night. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. Show us your aurora borealis photos. pic.twitter.com/QMB3IEmJtt

— BoulderCountySheriff (@BldrCOSheriff) May 11, 2024

“We had reports all the way down to south Florida and Puerto Rico,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the Space Weather Prediction Center. “The aurora was pretty widespread across much of the globe. You’re looking at only every 20 to 25 years that it would be this widespread.”

A solar outburst and severe geomagnetic storm ramped up the aurora borealis, Bettwy said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe, G4 geomagnetic storm watch — the second highest on the scale — for the first time since since January 2005 on Thursday.

One perk of working the graveyard shift? Catching the #NorthernLights here in Wheat Ridge 🤩 pic.twitter.com/5xgVA0EAyQ

— Wheat Ridge Police (@WheatRidgePD) May 11, 2024

Space weather officials warned of at least five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — pulses of plasma and other sun material — headed to Earth this weekend. The fastest CMEs can reach Earth from the Sun in 15 to 18 hours, and slower CMEs can take several days to arrive, space weather officials said.

As the CMEs pass through Earth’s atmosphere, they increase aurora activity, Bettwy said. The CMEs that arrived Friday afternoon and caused Friday night’s unusually bright light show are now passing out of the atmosphere.

“That puts us in a little bit of a lull,” he said. “We will see some aurora tonight, probably even here in Colorado we’ll see some, but not to the extent of last night.”

From Castle Rock #AuroraBorealis #cowx pic.twitter.com/dkxk0s4VHy

— Brian Force (@ColorfulCOAg) May 11, 2024

That just means Saturday is the least exciting day of the weekend — bright and intense Northern Lights to match Friday’s energy will return Sunday, Bettwy said.

Additional solar flares and CMEs ejected from the sun Saturday morning and late Friday night will arrive in Earth’s atmosphere Sunday afternoon, ramping the geomagnetic storm back up and returning the Northern Lights to Friday’s vividness and reach Sunday night.

“The storm will wind down after Sunday,” Bettwy said. “There’s a chance that it could remain relatively stormy Monday into Tuesday, so I wouldn’t rule out seeing the lights Monday night as well.”

There have been many times I’ve stood in awe under the sky on the PNG and last night was no exception. Absolutely breathtaking!#noco #weldcountymagic @usfsarp #Auroraborealis #NorthernLights #colorado pic.twitter.com/hOS3GgxWkM

— Jennifer Finch (@j3nf1nch) May 11, 2024

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“One tip we share with people is if they can’t see the aurora, to take a couple photos with their phone and look that way,” Bettwy said. “You might pick up an aurora where you can’t see it. The lights travel on an infrared wavelength that our phone cameras process better than our eyes do.”

Unfortunately, it’s up to the fickle Colorado weather if skies are clear enough to see the lights.

Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, as well as cloudy overlays, could block the aurora borealis from view Saturday and Sunday, according to National Weather Service forecasters. Those looking to see the next wave of lights might have more luck up by the Colorado-Wyoming border.

I never thought I’d be able to see the northern lights from Colorado pic.twitter.com/W5EB4TIhER

— charles (@spacecowbutch) May 11, 2024

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