This picture symbolizes so much for me. It’s not just a key on desk. It’s the end of an era, I’d say. At least from 2010 to 2025. So much happened in those fifteen years. I started law school, got divorced at 28 years old, after being married for 10 years to a man that I can honestly say I still love. I cheated on people I loved (that man, and a woman we both loved), and then I was cheated on in a deeply painful and personal way by the same person I left that man (and that woman) for (I always think I probably just got what I deserved – who knows). That ended that relationship at the end of 2016.
Then I was single… for one WHOLE year. 2017. That one year I’ll never forget. And man did I have fun. I lived alone for the first, and only, time in my entire life. In retrospect, I probably should have enjoyed that a bit longer. Not because I don’t love my wife or the life we’ve built, but just because… well… living alone is awesome. When you like spending time with yourself anyway.
You can sing, dance in your skivvies, clean up after no one but yourself, keep the house as immaculate or messy as you warrant, and there’s no one to check in with, or to worry about checking in with you. You’re just, free.
Then I met my wife and well, as the old le$bian saying apparently goes –
“What do you bring on a first date with a le$bean?”
What? You didn’t guess?!
That’s okay. I didn’t either. Answer: A U-Haul!
And if you’re a le$bian reading this now and you’re shaking your head – stop. You know very well that it is true. And if you don’t think it’s true, that’s probably because, like me, you’re not a “true” le$bian – whatever that means (ask my wife).
Yup. Before I knew it, I somehow went from not wanting kids, and never even imagining the possibility of being married to a woman (despite being in a Polyamorous relationship with my ex-husband and our, now, ex-girlfriend – who we both loved/love very much), to suddenly realizing I wanted nothing more in life than to carry our child together once we officially made the decision to try. And thank God (quite literally, as I often do), we had a beautiful baby girl, Luca James, after one try. And four years later, God and Mother Aya (story for another day), we were blessed with our second (and last) baby girl, Micah Quinn. And they are the biggest blessings in our lives, and quite frankly – I’m convinced – the whole reason I was meant to exist in the first place. We chose each other before this life, and I am honored to have been blessed with the opportunity to be their mother.
And here we are, and it’s suddenly 2025. Just like that. All of the above happened in 15 years. And it all happened, or most of it anyway, in sunny South Florida. Mainly Fort Lauderdale.
So, yeah, this picture symbolizes a lot for me. It’s not just leaving the Firm’s office here to expand our operations in Central Florida and to be close to family. It’s moving on from a season in my life that was rife with passion, love, heartache, tumultuousness, uncertainty, exploration, risk-taking, venturing, and loss… all for the sake of pursuing a dream that I always knew resided in me, and poured out of me when our daughters were born. They birthed in me the woman I had always been and had never had the grace to allow. Until now.
I am excited for this next era. As I pray to be blessed enough to see our daughters grow, flourish, and thrive – to see them become whatever versions of their most authentic selves they become, I am excited for the adventures that await us. Hopefully living transiently between my heart and my home – that is, Florida (even with its often-antiquated politics and dated, perhaps even regressive, ways), and the Midwest – Ohio. And hopefully, some worldly travel and trips to see family in Costa Rica and learn our ancestries in Italy and Spain. This is my wish anyway. We’ll see. One thing I never doubt is that God has His hand in my life and He’s always meant it to be an adventure, so I will be sure to do it honor and live it well.
Goodbye, Fort Lauderdale. It’s been unforgettable…
Hello next adventure.
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