Tradition

truh•DIH•shun

The asinine idea that things ought to be the way they are simply because that's the way they've always been.

Seriously, enough of this nonsense. No one who is currently married has a traditional marriage, and it's extremely unlikely that anyone considering marriage ever will.

I do not have a traditional marriage, and I'm extraordinarily thankful for that. My awesome wife and I were actually married outside, on a gorgeous day in May. The ceremony was small, only a handful of people, quaint, and every bit as full of anxiety and hope as any other. It was overseen by a non-denominational (GASP!), female (SHAME!) Officiant, in a secular ceremony (HORROR!). I concluded the ceremony by foreshadowing the absent-mindedness my new bride would find herself tolerating, and put the ring on the wrong finger. It was completely unintentional, and the few people there were kind enough to hold in their laughter until the end.

This was definitely a non-traditional marriage, and we couldn't be happier with each other.

No lightning bolts came from the sky, and no traditional marriages fell to pieces as a result.

My lovely wife is prone to speaking her mind, and instead of dragging her to a dark room and popping her with a switch, I listen. You know why? I'm fully aware of the likelihood that I will make a mistake somewhere, at some point, for some stupid error that I should damn well not have made, and her ridicule will likely be the thing that saves my life.

We do not have a traditional marriage.

What we have is better.

We have marriage equality. Some things are hers to deal with, some are mine, and we meet in the middle, and soldier on through life together. She and I have been through Hell, had sex in its broom closet, and come back out together. Not because of tradition, and not because I threw rocks at her for disobeying me. We've come this far, and we'll go further yet, because we understand that this is a partnership.

We'll make it, because we do not have a traditional marriage.

I think it's about fucking time this country allows EVERYONE the same opportunity.