[Magdalen] Anniversary

[Rick Mashburn]

I'm friends with a lot of you on Facebook so y'all will already know this.
Today is our 5-year wedding anniversary. We drove to Santa Fe that May with
very little idea of what we were actually going to do. Gay marriage wasn't
legal in Texas at that point and we needed to get Alex's green card
application in the works so we decided not to wait for the Supreme Court
ruling expected in the Summer.

We got into town earlier than expected, so we decided to swing by City Hall
and get our marriage license. Being from Texas, we weren't certain what to
expect from the office where we were to apply. But, when we told the clerk
at the desk what we wanted, everyone in the office came over and shook
hands with both us and congratulated us on the news.

We were staying in a charming B&B not far from downtown and the Cathedral
Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. During breakfast the owner stopped at
our table to chat with us. When we told her we were planning to get married
in one of the city courts, she begged us to wait and have the ceremony that
afternoon in the courtyard at the Inn. She even recruited one of her
friends to be our officiant.

The courtyard has just been cleaned up from the last snow of the season
with freshly planted flowers everywhere. The air was crisp and clean and
there was not a cloud in the sky. The officiant was attired in full Santa
Fe regalia - embroidered cowboy boots and lots of silver, turquoise and
fringe. She was wonderful! We had a lovely ceremony with Buddhist chimes, a
water goblet we both drank from before returning the remaining water to the
earth and traditional vows. Just as she pronounced us married, the bells at
the Cathedral starting ringing. It still gives me goose bumps to think
about how perfect it was - a magical day!

On the drive back to San Antonio, we talked about how wonderful is was and
how glad we were that we chose to get married this way. But, that it didn't
feel complete. So we started planning our church service here. I was
thrilled (and a little worried) about being the first same-sex couple to
have their marriage openly blessed in an Episcopal Church here but if there
was any controversy, I didn't hear about it. We translated the service into
Spanish and printed a bilingual Service Booklet. Alex's parents read the
Prayers of the People and friends read the lessons. Our families got along
famously -- both at the dinner the night before and at the reception in the
Parish Hall after the service. It was blessed weekend!

The five years since have been mostly awesome. Good times and bad, of
course, but it's the best decision I've made in my life. I love being
married. I was concerned that we didn't know enough about what we were
doing: I was 55 and Alex was 29, it was the first long-term relationship
for either one of us, different cultural backgrounds (he's from
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) and more. But, it's worked out really well
and I am grateful to be so abundantly blessed. And, we've been home
together 24/7 since the first week in March and we're both still alive!

Thanks be to God!

Peace, Rick
210-618-5096