victory.

i'm inexpressibly relieved.
i know we're not the whole way through;
i know there's a war waging.
i know it could be years before the smoke has cleared.
but at least we're getting somewhere.

i spoke to a woman last week about her experience with gay marriage.
she was from boston; had been with the same woman since she was 17.
they never wanted to get married, because they thought it was a fad.
they thought that marriage was for straight people.
but they decided to anyway, after they got over their "rebellious outcast" stage.
eventually they moved to new york, and their marriage was no longer recognized.
it made them a little angry, but nothing too extreme.
it was the birth of their son that changed the game.
when theo was born, julia was afraid that she would have to adopt her son.
she would have to go through a legal battle to gain guardianship over the child that she had decided to have.
the child whose father donor was chosen to look like her brother.
the child who she stood by all 9 months and sacrificed time, concern, and money for, even before his birth.
and still, the state would not acknowledge that she was, indeed, also this boy's mother.
being a lawyer, julia found her way through the system and was finally allowed to sign theo's birth certificate as his second mother.
but something as simple as having a child was more of a fight than it should have been.

this woman is inspiring.
so many people like her are inspiring.
and i'm thankful to see that the officials in new york have recognized that.
it's only one step, but it's a big one.
and at least we're getting somewhere.