My friend Jeff married his longtime partner Nic in October. They had a small ceremony at their home and invited close friends and family. Jeff brought their photo book into to work and I snapped these pics from it.
 |
| Jeff on left, Nic on right |
Fast forward eleven years - to yesterday as a matter of fact. On December 19, 2008 I started working at DNR - the best job I've every had. Jeff and Tom became my co-workers. I didn't take the JCP briefcase along. I'm sure they were leery of me anyway...
My "gay-dar" sounded when I met Jeff all those years ago, so I wasn't surprised when I started working with him and found out he had a long time partner named Nic. I met Nic at a gathering that first spring - nice guy. They're both into antiques and make a great couple.
It took me a while to get to know Jeff very well. I finally had a chance to talk to him outside of work (the Wallace Building anyway) when he agreed to be on the audit team for a program I manage. To do the audits we travel around the state - sometimes overnight. Jeff is funny, smart and caring. He's talked a bit about what it was like growing up gay in Iowa in the 70's. It wasn't easy.
I was surprised when Jeff announced that he and Nic were tying the knot October 6th, as I piloted our van on the way to Spencer last June. They were making it official! Same sex marriage has been legal in Iowa for a few years now - and they decided they wanted in on that. The two ordered matching rings. We co-workers assisted in song selection for the post wedding dance in the back yard. Jeff and I tortured our much younger co-workers with artists like Bobby Sherman!
I'm glad I have friends like Jeff and Nic. And a niece like Peg and her partner Brooke. They help us realize people aren't all that different - despite labels. And love is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment