Four years ago, the day after the 2012 elections, I awoke to the news that Maryland had become the first state in the United States to allow same-sex marriage by popular vote (not from a court ruling) — through a process of defeating an ugly referendum that was attempting to overturn a law that the Maryland legislature had passed earlier in the year.

It was that morning, four years ago, that I knew for certain that I could actually get married. Who woulda thunk?

So after preparing breakfast for my spouse, I got down on a knee, held his hand, looked deep into his beautiful blue eyes and asked,
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Warning: rare rant alert.

The other day at the office, New Guy (well, he’s been here more than a year now, but he still is the newest member of the staff and at a rookie rank) returned from his honeymoon after his wedding of two weeks ago.

I congratulated him, and then he revealed his true character…
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Yesterday, a cop looked at my spouse and me directly, and asked, “what binds you together?”
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Alas, just when I thought issues about same-sex marriage, particularly in my family, had quieted and had become non-issues, at a recent family gathering, someone to whom I am related (husband of a first cousin once removed) saw the ring on my left ring finger and asked, “when did you get married?”

That question didn’t surprise me from this guy because I have not seen him in several years. I said that I married (BB, but given name) in April, 2013.

The response was disquieting. He said,
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Today marks the date of three years of marriage, and (almost) 23 years of our relationship. According to Hallmark’s promotions, this is our “leather anniversary,” so noted because after three years, a couple knows that their bond is both durable, yet flexible.

As I think about the anniversary of our marriage, I cannot help but wonder…
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I was reading a blog that I occasionally check out. It is very popular and a money-maker for the author. The blog is “Single Dad Laughing.”

A series of posts on his blog were about how he “blew” two marriages. He described things that he did that undermined his relationship with his wife and how those acts and behaviors eventually led to the demise of his marriages.

I am a very old-school believer in what marriage really means — a bond of love, caring, and being “one” together. When my man and I married, both of us knew it was right, and we were in love. But so was the case for the author of the blog that I am referencing. He, too, was in love with his wife, and then things slipped and eventually not one, but two marriages ended.

How do my spouse and I prevent that from happening to us?
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When I recently took a flight out west, I had an experience that perhaps changed perceptions, just maybe, of someone who expressed those old worn-out narrow-minded points of view about same-sex marriage. And it happened by observing two guys who just got married to each other and were “rather expressive” about it. Read on…
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