I am dreaming that California would always have these big puffy clouds and even partially green grass at the end of May. Big clouds make me happy and so do old cars in the middle of fields.
landscape
We are going to Iowa…
On April 4th, 2010, our wedding anniversary, Arann and I went to Tomales Bay, to the house where we stayed the night we got married.
Well, fake married. We haven’t legally gotten married yet.
In November 2008, we were at the height of our wedding planning when California passed Proposition 8, denying same-sex couples the right to get married, and we were heart broken. We thought about canceling the wedding, but instead we decided to continue with our plans, because we felt the ceremony with our loved ones was the most important part.
And on April 4th, 2009, we had an amazing celebration with family and friends.
But because we want to get legally married in a state where all people are allowed to get married, we haven’t gotten legally married yet.
At first I didn’t think the legal part mattered to me. But a year later, I can feel the difference. Even though people, and insurance agencies, don’t question us when we say we’re married. And even though we made our vows to each other, and in my heart I know that is the most important part. I also know that if anything happens to one of us, the other one has no legal rights. And that bothers me.
So in June…
We are going to Iowa.
Because who wants to go to Iowa to get married?
We do.
We want to support the middle state that has historically been a leader in civil rights.
First making a stand against slavery in the civil war, and then putting woman’s suffrage on the agenda 50 years before the rest of the country.
And now leading the way again with same-sex marriage, which became legal in Iowa on April 3, 2009, the day before we got fake married.
Coincidence?
No way.
We are going to Iowa.
What we’ve been doing a lot of lately…
Because Arann and I work crazy hard during the summer months, January and February are sort of like our summer vacations, but without the warm summer part.
So we are trying to take advantage of these slower days by spending as much time as we can outside with our dog.
Sometimes we get restless and wish summer would hurry up and get here.
But when we stop and look closely, we find things are pretty good right now.
Commuting…
For the past month, I have been driving back and forth, and back and forth, from the country to the city for this office project I am working on.
And because I often work with MALT (the Marin Agricultural Land Trust,) and they love to have photos of green hills for their annual reports… I have been trying to take the back-roads home, which has been nice because not only do I get to avoid the traffic, but I also get to build my 2009 library of green hill photos.
Here is my next installation of parallels between the two worlds that are not so far apart.
somewhere between a handshake and two kisses 
