Broken Lives Matter

There are moments throughout my week that inspire me. Even though this "fight" to change the marriage laws for SSDI recipients feels like running to the end of a rubber band, only to be shot back to where I started, over and over again, there ARE hopeful moments. Yesterday my day started at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts with coffee, pastry, and camaraderie among fellow members as we were led through a private tour of an exhibition celebrating black history. There were certainly some pieces of art, and some elements of the expression, that made me uncomfortable. The charming, pastel-colored, painting of hooded members of the Ku Klux Klan around the hanging body of a dangling black child--was meant to jar me. And so it did. More than any of the other items I saw. But it was astonishing how much I could say about every single thing. And that was thrilling to me. Of course that led to making some fascinating new friends--finding something of a kindred spirit in our...

Scary, but exciting:) I finally called my local congressional representative's office and let them know about this issue I'm so passionate about, and got the ball bouncing, if not rolling smoothly just yet! You know, one of my favorite quotes is "the shortest answer is doing." I've been so stuck in a rut lately and very unhappy with my life; I felt like nothing would ever change, and there was nothing I could do. Turns out there's always SOMETHING I can do! And even if this is just a baby little stutter step, at least it's a step. I feel renewed; I should have done this a long time ago! But I had to be feeling this down and depressed about myself to feel motivated to step out of my comfort zone. Upheaval is certainly not the goal for my life; since when is tumult a good thing? But a little shake up now and then is definitely needed; it restarts the spirit's entire process, and somehow encourages you. To be sure, I WILL be calling tomorrow. I've h...

A few days ago I had a revelation. While the concept of a marriage has always been a social construct, a partnership leaves it entirely to the couple to decide the terms of their relationship. In other words, before the State butted in, once upon a time people were joined by love. Bursting with this new thought, I've done some research. I found an article listing in detail all the things that have traditionally defined marriages, and how over time that has evolved. They've gone from being almost exclusively arranged unions to purely convenience couplings, to being about how each person feels about each other, with the State being more or less an after thought. Having been the maid of honor at my sister's wedding, I can tell you the extent of the State's involvement was a piece of paper declaring my sister's name change, essentially, and the rest of the time I stood beside her at the head of the aisle, gave a speech, and bore more witness to the love in their heart...