Vote of a Lifetime

In a week's time, Washington will be voting on Referendum 74, a bill that if passed will legalize same-sex marriage. I'm not sure where your vote lies, but in case you are still on the fence about it or wonder if your decision is best for Washington, I would like to share some thoughts and stories that may make a difference.

Marriage for same-sex couples is first off an emotional issue that is close to the heart.  Most of us grow up with role models who are married and then typically hold the institution of marriage in high esteem.  It is a legalized bond that makes things "official", a bond that we as a society see as the highest level of commitment.  Most of us hold marriage as the "industry standard" of relationship definitions.  And some of us go our whole lives dreaming of that special someone who we will find, choose to spend the rest of our lives with, and then make that special commitment to.  I believe everyone should be able to proclaim their love, regardless of sexual orientation, in this way.

Marriage also offers certain rights that many married couples take for granted.  I would like to share some stories with you from some of my friends.  The first is from my friend Barb who is in the Seattle Women's Chorus with me.  Listen to her story about how she lost her daughter...

The second story is from a friend of mine named Erin who also sings with the Seattle Women's Chorus.  Listen to her story and how the laws have affected her ability to get life-saving treatment for her leukemia...

And last but certainly not least is my friend Amber.  She and her partner decided to expand their family earlier this year.  Their bundle of joy was originally due on November 10th but decided to make an early appearance on August 14th... just 27 weeks gestation.  The sad truth is that because her partner is not the biological mom, she currently has no legal right to the child if anything were to happen to Amber.  And as their baby Cedar has remained in the NICU since birth (and is projected to stay there through the holidays), this means Amber has to stay by her baby as she is the only one who can make decisions for her and can legally claim her.  You can read about her journey on her blog.  Here's her post summing up the issues and how marriage equality affects her family.

http://ourlittlecedarsapling.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/vote-for-love/

There are so many reasons why marriage equality is so necessary.  Similar to the civil rights struggle of African Americans, it is time we fight for basic human rights for all within our society.  Same-sex couples should have the same rights and responsibilities that come with marriage and also the protections that are provided under marriage.  And just as Barb said, even if this story doesn't directly affect you right now, it may affect a friend or possibly in the future one of your children.  We have the opportunity to positively change lives for the good.  Feel free to post this blog or any of my friends' stories on social networking sites.  Let's all share our stories.  Please join me in support of Referendum 74 as we vote next week.  Let's support marriage equality and end the discrimination.

A breath...

I have the privilege of singing in the Seattle Women's Chorus.  Aside from the fact that the community of women that gathers is inspiring, it is also amazing to be able to regularly sing in a choir.  So many of us sing as kids but don't take the initiative to find choirs as adults and frankly, life gets in the way.  Beyond the ordinary great things that happen in a choral setting, there are the moments - those musical instance where things click, are spell-binding and usually render you speechless.  We in the music community live for these moments.

As a former conducting student, I'm always amazed at how a slight flick of your hand can make a whole choir breathe or cut off on a note.  Wow.  Or the times when a choir takes the time to get all 150 + voices to sing the exact same vowel and tone so you come as close to one-voice-nirvana as possible.  That's amazing. Last night I was struck by one of these moments.

Breathing, it seems so simple, right?  Out of all the things breathing means, the things I like the most are the peace that pause brings and the anticipation of something that is coming.  That is especially true for breathing within a song.  There's the break from sound and then the anticipation of what sounds, words and harmonies will come next.  Well, last night there was a moment in a song where we all had to stop and breathe together (not always the case in choral music).  (Insert collective sigh.)  To hear that many women and feel those feelings in one instant just renders a girl speechless.  I can live on that moment for a long time.