Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Inauguration Day


I suspect that today will be one of the few days in my life that I will be able to remember every thing I did. There are a few other days that are like that...September 11th, the day my Dad passed away, the day we found out we had a Baby Bear on the way....the day he got here. But today was even better, because it was the first indelible memory that involved our entire family.

Today was the day America inaugurated our first African-American President, the day that I hope we will be able to look back and say was the beginning of a new way for our country. It was a day that made me think that my son's generation, the kids who won't remember today but will have pictures and websites and videos to prove they were there, is going to be alright.

It gave me hope that maybe when our little Baby Bear grows up, that Mamas like me won't have to wait 6 months to have their names added to their children's birth certificates (and then only by court order that I won't really believe is coming until I have it in my hand). Hope that families like ours won't face the problem friends of ours recently had, realizing that although the company they work for offers medical benefits to same-sex partners, they have to pay for them after tax (just to make sure they didn't go thinking their relationship was equal or anything). And hope that some day, our little Baby Bear will be able to see his Mamas get married.

But for now, I have a real feeling of hope and positivity for this year. In a few weeks, Mama Bear's family, my in-laws and her sister-in-law, and Baby Bear's cousin, will all come to town to celebrate with us when I get that long-awaited court order and become his legal Mommy. That is going to be amazing and fabulous and so very meaningful, not because of the court decision, or even my name on his birth certificate (if any family realizes that a piece of paper does not a relationship make, it's one that has two mommies). No, it's not because of that at all, but simply because we will be living in a country that believed things should be a bit more fair, a bit more equal, a bit brighter and more hopeful, and then went out and made that happen.

And also, and more importantly, it will be because for the first time in my life, I will have a family standing behind me when something important happens, and they will all be happy for me and my loved ones simply because they love us. Nothing is better than that, and I can't wait.