Those of youse who have been reading this blog for a while were aware that Lady Lucia and I had been planning our Holy Union ceremony for nearly a year and would be having it in late April. (I hadn't wanted to specify the exact date on this blog until after the fact, for somewhat paranoid reasons, but it was yesterday; April 28th. Three days after my 50th birthday, which we celebrated simply, by going out to dinner).

Well, we had the ceremony and reception yesterday, as planned, and it was beautiful but bittersweet. Lady Lucia's mother, who had been ill for a long time, died the day before! We decided to go ahead with the ceremony and reception, which were held at the New Jersey Episcopal Church where Lady L serves, because, well, we had all the food and flowers and people were traveling to be with us. It didn't seem right to cancel (or postpone) on less than 24 hours notice. So, we had a lovely ceremony and reception but the very next day (this afternoon) after attending church with my congregation at the home, and having lunch with me, Lady Lucia had to get a cab to the airport and fly to Florida, to arrange her mother's funeral there, see her mother's lawyers and all those things that are necessary after someone dies.

'Though I had only met Lady Lucia's mother a couple of times, I liked her very much and am saddened, myself, by her passing. Wishing I could have had more time to know her. I also wish, with all my heart, that I could have gone with Lady L to Florida, to stand by her side and help her with everything. But we are not, legally, family, and it's not safe for me to be out at my current job (most folk at the Home think she's my room-mate). So, I must stay here alone with Alice and Trixie, while she goes, for a week-and-a-day, to do these sad tasks without the help that I long to give her.

I had already decided that this would be my last job "in the closet." I am telling all prospective future employers, in the "personal notes" section of my cover letters, that I am in Domestic Partnership with a woman. I actually have an interview, tomorrow, evening, for a job as Head Teacher at a downtown Brooklyn preschool. Those folk already know that the woman with whom I live is more than just a "room-mate." This is as it will always be, from now on.

On that note, I also want to tell y'all that I have had an article published, under my real name (with my real photo on it) in an online magazine called Pretty Queer. www.prettyqueer.com. The article is called "Coming (Back) Out" and will probably contain information that's familiar to readers of this blog but might be of interest anyway, if only because it's a "real" publication, for which I had to submit my writing and have it accepted by the editor.  The aformentioned editor has already said he'll want more pieces from me in the future. I'm pleased about that. While I don't have great ambitions for a writing "career" as I know some of youse do, I do think that having my writing published is a good thing. It allows me to tell important truths and give people food-for-thought, in a way that's taken seriously. I've been published before, but mostly as poet. This is a new way to write for publication and, as far as I'm concerned, a good one. And yes, giving you this link means that I "risk" having my real name and appearance known on Open Salon. Well, it's already known to those who encountered me at the New York meet-up in March, so I'm really not worried about that, 'though I intend to remain "Eva" in this space.

I'll probably be around here a lot this week, assuaging my loneliness and sadness for Lady Lucia, with the help of your virtual company. As always, thanks for being interested and supportive, through so much of muchness...

Blessings and well-wishes,

Eva T.