A note to 2011 Angie

Dear 2011 Angie,

It's me..or rather you...one year later. Last week while e-mailing with Sukie she said, "Can you imagine if I would have told you this time last year you'd be where you are now? You would have thought I was batshit crazy." And she's right. She was referring to running (yeah, we run now) but it extends so much farther than that. Far enough that I felt like it was worth documenting.

But we can start with running. You run. And not just pretend to finish Couch to 5k run (which is pretty much your BIG running goal in 2011). You have run two half marathons and you're training for our third. You've made new friends from running. This weekend you went and supported friends running the full marathon - and while you don't have ANY plans to run that far, being able to relate to them was pretty incredible. And knowing so many of them was even more amazing. You're officially a runner and that's bonkers.

You'll get laid off in April. You know it's coming but not until like THE morning it's coming. And while you think you'll be sad, you see really quickly what a blessing it was. And you get a job shortly there after. And (spoiler alert) you LOVE it. And your boss makes you feel smart and capable. And your coworkers are hysterical. And you get to bring Bella to work every Friday. ALSO, jeans day, all day every day. Yeah, I know.

I know you just cancelled your subscription to match.com (after hating every minute of it). And you'll casually go on a few more dates, make out with a few more boys, but shortly after that, you'll just stop caring. And it'll feel fucking awesome. And then occasionally you'll feel like, "wait, shouldn't I be dating?" but it'll be a fleeting thought because you're *actually* having too much fun and too happy to give a shit (and not in a "no, you guys I'm SO happy single" and then cry yourself to sleep at night happy). Which, in turn, only makes you have more fun and feel even happier.

Oh! Speaking of fun and happy. You are going to meet so many incredibly amazing people this year you won't know what to do with yourself. Twitter basically hands you the most kick ass people to be your friends on a silver platter. And you become friends with them. Not just tweet back and forth friends, but real life hang out friends. You travel across the country with them and have the best time ever. You go on lady dates, and see plays, and have dinner, and run with TOTAL strangers. And then they become friends. And every time it happens it blows your mind (and no, it doesn't wear off...like, ever). And because of all these awesome people, you fall even deeper in love with Milwaukee as a city and as your "home".

Ahhh..speaking of meeting awesome people. You're going to read a book in December. And you're going to LOVE THIS BOOK. You'll e-mail the author and in a CRAZY twist of events, even though she's in NYC and you're in MKE, through the power of social media and e-mail you become friends. She's hosting an event in a few weeks in NYC and you're attending. And because she's more wonderful than you can imagine, so is one of your best friends. Because SHE wants to meet US and give us the opportunity. Which, again blows your mind.

You pretty much have taken the great life you're living in 2011 and improved it even more... exponentially. All those damn good people that you had in 2011 are there (and are even more awesome then they were then), but there's more good people. And more good times. And experiences you never imagined. And you spend days more often than not perplexed at how awesome life can be sometimes. Not surprising at all, you cry just as much (maybe more), but you can't even recall the last time you cried because you were sad. You cry because you're amazed, inspired, thrilled, excited, ecstatic and in awe.

Basically, you spend the greater majority of 2012 mind blown. And it's not even over yet.

That one time I liked a Viking.

It's pretty clear I'm a life long, incredibly loyal fan of the Green Bay Packers. No doubt there. I lived in Minnesota for four years and avoided wearing purple lest I be confused as a fan of the Vikings. Instead I proudly wore my #4 jersey every Sunday (I don't want to talk about him though. Let's not even use names.) So you can imagine how confused my brain feels lately as I'm GUSHING over the writing of one particular Minnesota Viking, Chris Kluwe.

If you're not familiar, Mr. Kluwe is a punter for the Vikings. He is also outspoken about his support of same sex marriage. I first became aware of his way with words and strong support in this article, "They Won't Magically Turn You Into a Lustful Cockmonster" which he wrote in response to a Maryland State Delegate asking NFL owners to silence their teams from talking in favor of same sex marriage. It was hilarious, well-written and true. And I loved him a little bit for writing it.

Flash forward to today, where I find he's written another piece on supporting gay marriage. An amendment will appear on ballots in MN in November that limits the status of marriage to opposite sex couples. His former teammate supports this amendment and Chris Kluwe has an opinion on that. This time it's laced with factual, well supported arguments that make LOGICAL SENSE. If you haven't read it, you really truly should. (Go ahead, read it now, I'll wait.)

Here's the thing. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion and I respect that. However, Chris makes some REALLY sound arguments against your opinion ruling the lives of others. It's very difficult for me to read that article and understand how anyone couldn't agree with him. He covers pretty much all the points I think of when it comes to this topic. Who are straight people to judge what makes a successful marriage (see: our divorce rate)? What if it's your kid in the future (it very well COULD be your kid)? What about divorced parents? Single parents?

At the end of the day it makes me sad. Sad that some people think they have the right to tell others how to live. Sad that people who love each other deeply are told love isn't enough. Sad that friends I have and people I know have to fight for what so many other friends and people I know take for granted, even abuse. Sad that some day my kids will learn about when gay marriage became legal and look back in time (to a time that I'm a part of now) and wonder how on Earth that ever could have been a thing. Much like I look back at segregation and wonder how we as a people ever could have thought it was acceptable to treat other humans that way.

So there you have it. In this once instance I am cheering for a Viking. I hope anyone with a voting capability in Minnesota will consider his arguments and put personal belief and religion aside, using logic and reason to make their choice on November 6th. And I longingly wait for the day when I have the opportunity to vote in favor of everyone having their right to marriage here in Wisconsin.