So, Cy is off teaching other students tonight. G, being her usual responsible self, starts her homework at 6:30 sharp. It gets difficult, there are tears, but we work through it with silliness and laughter. OK, I had to sing and do a booty dance, but whatever it takes.
After the homework is learned and done, we play monopoly. She bought Cy the “Family Guy” version for his birthday with her own money. Cy was gone, but we still played. (Don’t tell her it sharpens her math skills — especially subtraction!)
As we’re playing, she casually states: “So, you and Cy are married.”
I replied “Not legally.”
G: But you’ve been together 28 years?
Me: Yes.
G: And you have a daughter?
Me, laughing: Yes! One we love very much!
G: Oh, you’re married.
That’s when I realized: I don’t care about a Supreme Court Opinion, all that matters is the opinion of the one person who is the focus of my life.
And she knows the commitment we have to her, and to each other. This is immutable to her, as it should be.
Any other vote: whether by 9 justices, or by 25 million Texans, cannot change the love and stability she knows. She doesn’t know nuances of tax law, nor should she care. All she knows is that we are there for her, and there for each other, above all else. This, she accepts without question nor hesitation.
There is only thing I love more than teaching my daughter; learning from my daughter.
And tonight, I have had an epiphany.