Share Your Pride: Gina and Heidi
“In 2016, when it was finally legal for us to marry, we did it…our way! Just us, on the beach, sun shining, blue sky above, wearing our white outfits, barefoot, with our pug Toey dressed in a fancier dress than us! 😂 It was perfect!”
Sometimes that special someone comes into your life when you least expect it and changes your life for the better! This happened to us almost 24 years ago when a mutual friend decided to play match maker! Before we actually met, we talked on the phone. It felt very comfortable, natural, and we were very real with each other! Once we finally met in person for lunch with friends, there was flirting. We were interested, but Heidi was moving out of town in two weeks so we both knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. Heidi was just up for a good time before she left town, and I thought what have I got to lose spending time with a fun, beautiful woman! You’d think that would be the end of the story, but it wasn’t. She moved, but we still kept in touch on the phone, talking, laughing, getting to know each other better. Then she said she’d be back in town for a wedding and wanted to get together for dinner and of course I said, “YES”! I had nothing to lose! Dinner was great, more fun conversation and crème brûlée for dessert! Heidi decided moving out of town wasn’t what she expected and decided to move back. 😃 We continued to date, after 6 months we moved in together, and about 6 months later we moved to NY together so Heidi could attend the Culinary Institute of America and study to become a chef. Uprooting my whole life, leaving my home, my family, my friends was not in my character, but I knew it would be an adventure with Heidi! An adventure it was for sure! We shared so many fun times exploring the outdoors and traveling to NYC, Boston, and the Florida Keys! With all the fun times, we also had some of our most challenging times. We almost broke up, but instead we became even closer and more in love than ever! 😍 After Heidi graduated Culinary School we moved a lot, mostly in California, my home state, but eventually my Brooklyn girl and I settled in Oregon!
In 2016, when it was finally legal for us to marry, we did it…our way! Just us, on the beach, sun shining, blue sky above, wearing our white outfits, barefoot, with our pug Toey dressed in a fancier dress than us! 😂 It was perfect!
We often joke about how we can’t believe we still love each other so much after all these years! But laughter, honesty, respect, loyalty, and the willingness to compromise keeps us together! Even though the odds were against us being a couple, here we are, still going strong!
