It is my pleasure to announce the official partnership between Andrew’s Round Table and Minnesotans United for All Families. The partnership was kicked off today with a Press Conference at the Capitol and an official press release.

This is a partnership that has been in the works for sometime now and it is thrilling to see it finally be announced and to get to share the news with everyone. As you know our mission at ART is foster and encourage conversations around the issue of marriage equality and we are hoping by partnering with MU we will be able to spread this message even further.

A year ago today the unimaginable happened and a family was changed forever.

Let us all take a moment to remember the sacrifice the Wilfahrt’s and all of the other families of our fallen soldiers have made on behalf of our country and our freedoms. What a remarkable man and soldier Andrew Wilfahrt was. He gave his life fighting for rights and freedoms he himself could not receive.

I never knew Andrew, but his light and love shines bright through his parents Jeff and Lori. What a remarkable family and an incredible inspiration for the rest of us. It is the dedication of people like Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt that makes me believe this country will see full equality for all GLBT couples.

Let us remember their sacrifice as we continue to work for that equality.

I received a very honest and loving email today from someone I look up to very dearly. The email was short and simple and said “Nicole, A blogger is supposed to blog….” and I responded quietly to myself with a chuckle and thought “no sh**!”

A blogger is supposed to blog and I am not sure what my problem has been. I think for a while there I was feeling overwhelmed with my day-to-day life and didn’t feel like I had the strength to do anything else. Then the holiday season came and I took some time off work, thinking it would give me the perfect break to write. Unfortunately, I ended up being just as busy not working as I am working; with presents to buy and friends and family to catch up with. Then there was a short period of time after the holidays and right before I had to go back to work, where I didn’t have anything to do, which would be the perfect time to write – right?

It would have been the perfect time to write, except for I was feeling uninspired. I was feeling uninspired! I hate even saying those words because I want this blog to be an inspiration to everyone reading, and how do you inspire if you are uninspired. You can’t.

And it was the last part of this email that really knocked the wind out of me: “I’m going to quit checking for your new stuff pretty soon.”

This statement is so powerful because the author of this email is probably one of my biggest fans (or at least, that’s what I like to think) and it meant there are people who continue to check my site.

So, to all my loyal fans out there – I am sorry and I promise you I will no longer give you the silent treatment. I have a lot of great things to write about, so expect more to come SOON!

And to you-know-who-you-are: Thank you! And I love you too! (emoticons allowed!!!)

xoxo

Nicole

After months of planning, dozens of email exchanges, a handful of meetings, and much anticipation, Andrew’s Round Table’s debut event kicked off tonight with a meet and greet. The night started with picking up Randy at the airport. As we were anxiously awaiting his arrival I realized he had no idea what we looked like. We, of course, knew exactly what he looked like; although he is taller and even more adorable in person.

From the airport we went straight to The Wilde Roast on St. Anthony Main where Randy met the rest of the people behind Andrew’s Round Table. The night included lots of talking and laughing; and overall was a huge success. It was so great to finally meet Randy; he is so wonderful and happy to be here. I can’t wait to hear him speak in the morning. I asked him how the writing process was for the speech he is going to be giving. He said the speech was a joy to write and beyond that he wouldn’t give us any other details. He didn’t want to spoil it for us, so he literally wouldn’t say anything else about it; which makes me even more eager to hear it. I hope you can all make it to at least one of the events over the next four days, and if you can, bring someone that might benefit from hearing Randy’s message.

All of the event information is on the events tab, or you can go to Andrew’s Round Table for more details. I will be at every event, and I hope to see you there!

Randy Roberts Potts will be coming to Minnesota in 2 weeks. I am so excited for his visit that I find myself checking out his Facebook page every time I log on and today he wrote the words “OUT” on his profile picture. I don’t know what it is about this picture, but I have thought about it all day. What better way to make a statement on National Coming Out Day than to post the word “OUT” on your profile picture. It made me wish I could post the same thing on my picture.

I find the concept of “coming out” to be quite odd. I have to imagine years and years from now the idea of “coming out” won’t even mean anything because there will be no stigma around being gay. People will just be able to live their lives and be who they are without having to worry of rejection from their loved ones or public scrutiny. I just can’t wait until we are at that point and I hope that I am still alive to see it.

I don’t think anyone can truly understand how hard and terrifying it can be for a person to come out of the closet until they go through it themselves. It’s funny because I like to think I have been through three major coming out’s: my brother’s, my sister’s, and my own. I know I am not gay but I do feel like I had my own coming out moment. When my brother came out, I was so young I didn’t know what the big deal was. When my sister came out we almost didn’t take her seriously because we thought she was trying to be funny. It wasn’t until I finally came out and told my best friends that my brother and sister were gay when I realized how hard it can be. I found that once I did tell the people I was closest to and saw how supportive and loving they were, it became easier to tell the rest of the world. In fact, look at me now!

Not that I can give real advice on coming out, because I know what I went through does not come close to what people in the GLBT community go through; but if I were to give any advice it would be to first come out to someone you know loves you. Start with that person you feel safe with, a person you think will be supportive. I think you will find it gets easier to come out once you slowly build your support system. If you don’t have any one in your life you feel like would be OK with it, reach out to one of the many GLBT organizations out there. These organizations are a great resource and can be a great support system for those that don’t have one else where.

I like to think if a person truly loves you, I mean loves you unconditionally; it won’t matter to them who you love. Love is love; it’s that simple.