Just an Ordinary Day

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It was 5 days before our Wedding.

Soon guest would be arriving,
planes would need to be met,
hotels checked into
and hosting would begin.

My (then) Fiance and I had decided on a destination wedding.

Boston by choice,
The destination wedding part by necessity.
We still can't legally marry in our home state of Florida.

So there we were,
heading to Boston City Hall to apply for our marriage license.

Us

That thought, that concept, going to apply for a Marriage License,
had but stomach in more of a knot than our upcoming nuptials.

Growing up as a a Gay Man, I have often prepared myself to soften the sting of discrimination by playing it all out in my head first.

How would it go?
What might they say?
How would I react?
What words would I choose?

That's how I do it, that's how I've always done it!

So as we entered that great old building I prepared myself first with the security guard as we asked which way the Marriage license office was,
down the escalator to the left he said without even looking up.
Hmmm I thought, first crisis overted.

Down we went,
Left we went,
and there it was, a simple window with a simple sign.

But for me it was so much more,
stepping up to that window with my future Husband was nothing short of a miracle.
A right so long fought for by my Gay and Lesbian Brothers and Sisters before me.
A right that we would now request and receive.

But how would that go?
Would the clerks treat us differently?
Would it be difficult?
What if they hold up our license with just days to go before our Wedding day?

As Joel and I approached the line we quickly noticed that there were 4 couples ahead of us.
Two Heterosexual,
one middled aged, holding hands.
The other, oh so young, and in love.
Behind them a Gay Couple,
behind then a Lesbian Couple,
and then, us!

When we finally reached the window and asked to apply, 
we were greeted with nothing special,
the clerk was as friendly as any city clerk can be, or is expected to be.


She handed us the application,
told us where to have a seat to complete them and what window to proceed to in order to pay, credit card or money orders only.

When we returned in the 3 designated days to pick up our license we were met with the same nothingness,
the same ordinary treatment we had received originally.
We gave them our number and they gave us our license.

Nothing more, nothing less,
we were no more special nor different than anyone else.

And that was amazing!

My Husband still says It was the most ordinary he had ever felt in his, anything but ordinary Gay life.

To some that read this it may seem silly,
What's his point? 
What's with all this ordinary stuff?
But to others that have never been able to imagine a life where they were just treated normally, equally, with the same dispassionate, non batting of an eye, given to others,
this is a loving, yet firm reminder that what you seek is alive and well and hopefully just around your corner.

My Sis and Godson witnessing
our Marriage License

So here's to being ordinary, in the most spectacular of ways!


Namaste

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