Wednesday began like any other day. The alarm clock went off at 5:30am and we hit the gym by 6:00am. It was a cardio day, so we hopped on the elliptical and I watched an episode of The Real L Word on my iPhone. (Hey now… Don’t judge. It keeps me from constantly checking the time. LOL!) But as we hussled through our cardio routine, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on the time. I was determined to be home by 7:00am in anticipation of the SCOTUS rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. Once we made it home and 7:00am was nearing, I became increasingly nervous. I knew what I wanted to hear, but was highly unsure of the outcome.

And then the rulings came out… DOMA and Prop 8 were history.

It took a few minutes for it to sink in, but once it did, I immediately thought of my dear friends… Joy & Breonna’s upcoming wedding will now take on a greater significance. And the marriages of Leah & Lorraine and Lara & Jennilyn will now be recognized like any other. I began to get teary-eyed and gave Shimina the biggest hug.

And then I received a text message from my friend Danielle that stated, “I owe you an engagement session… IF the time ever presents itself 🙂 How good does your heart feel right now?!!” Danielle wasn’t the only person to bring up my potential future plans with Shimina yesterday. My brother-in-law may have also requested another family celebration. 🙂

The SCOTUS decisions may not have an effect on our immediate future, but by giving us the option to choose how we live our lives as a couple most certainly does. I’ve been in love with Shimina for almost 5 years, and we’ve lived together for 4. We adopted our furkid, Jasper, together. We start and end our days together, take care of each other, celebrate together, and pray together. She is my family. Before the SCOTUS decision was announced, Shimina reminded me that no matter what happened, we would still be family. And she was right.

As a queer woman, I am still on a high from yesterday, especially as San Francisco’s PRIDE weekend begins. I am so glad I was able to celebrate history with my community in the Castro District last night, and I am excited to celebrate PRIDE with my wifey this weekend.

Happy PRIDE folks!!

xoxo,

cristal veronica

PS – I hope to be photographing some fabulously queer weddings in the near future!!