My thoughts from late last night:

I don’t want today to end. I never, ever want the feeling of being part of something so important, so needed, to ever end. My rainbow bandana, my symbol to the masses that I fully support everybody’s rights to marry, to love, to be as equal as I am under the eyes of the law. Equality. I don’t want this feeling of togetherness, of fighting the good fight, to ever go away.

I took off my bandana last night, after arriving back home from the National Equality March in DC, a little sad that it was over, but happy that I could be part of something so amazing. Tens Hundreds of thousands of people walked 2.3 miles to support the rights of the LGBTQ community and to show that they were not second-class citizens.

From EqualityAcrossAmerica.org:

Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. We will accept no less and will work until it is achieved. Equality Across America exists to support grassroots organizing in all 435 Congressional Districts to achieve full equality.

We are guaranteed equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. Free and equal people do not bargain for or prioritize our rights. Full equality necessarily includes all members of the LGBT community and encompasses, but is not limited to:

• The right to work our jobs and go to school free of harassment and discrimination.
• The right to safety in our daily lives, and protection from hate crimes.
• The right to equitable healthcare, and the right to donate blood.
• The right to equitable immigration policies.
• The right to marry.
• The right to serve in the military openly.

Our day started fairly early, we met a friend at a Metro station and together, the nine of us (three adults, six children) ventured into DC. As we waited for her arrival, I watched men and women, young college students and children filter in and buy their Metro passes. They wore shirts that read anything from “The ‘T’ in LGBT is NOT silent” to “This is What an Activist Looks Like.” They had signs, they were smiling and excited when I asked to take their picture.

On the Metro, I could hear people asking about the rainbows we were wearing (three of my four kids, plus myself) and while I explained to the tourists what today was about, I even heard The Husband giving his two cents on why we were about to march for equality in DC. We spoke of the British family’s relative who was gay, and another woman who was a lesbian and how they never really thought any differently of them, that they were fiercely supportive of LGBT rights. I sat, listened, anticipating how the day was going to go.

When we stepped off the Metro, there were a few people standing around chattering, laughing and selling rainbow and equality flags (we got 4). Our rainbow tie dye… while I really just had the idea that it would help my friends find us, its hard to put into words what children wearing the LGBTQ “colors” meant to so many people there.

Before buying our flags, a man came up to me and said, “are those your children?”

“Yes,” I smiled.

That man grabbed me, hugged me and thanked me profusely for being there with my family, showing our support for his right to be equal to, well, to us.

As we headed to the staging area, people began to stop us for photos. It was the kids, I admit, the kids dressed in rainbows, holding equality flags. One woman pointed at us and her eyes welled up with tears. I cannot tell you how many people stopped us for family and/or kid photos. We held big flags, we held signs people made… and we were more than happy to put our faces on a cause that matters so much.

Of course, there were the haters. The protestors. The nasty sign-holders. We saw them, and they were ignored. I did get to explain to Talker the value of protest, even if they were protesting something so right as Equality. (Yes, T, its ridiculous to me, too).

The staging area was buzzing with… the buzz.

The Husband and his… uh… counterpart

We finally got in the street around noon, and just stood there for a while with everyone else. People were still taking photos of us, of the kids, thanking us for being there. I kind of regret not having a catchy sign, but I will certainly have one next year.

The signs, I could blog solely about the signs. They were hilarious, heartbreaking, and everywhere in between.

We still weren’t moving about 30 minutes later, but there was a rolling “wooooooooooo!!!!” through the crowd. Have you ever screamed at the top of your lungs with thousands of other people? Try it. Its freaking amazing. When we finally moved, and I’m talking maybe 20 feet, the crowd all turned toward this building on our left, pointing and looking up toward the sky. I’m a little afraid of heights, so it was hard for me to look up, but I am so glad I did. Up in the sky, there was indeed… a rainbow. (Google the image, mine didn’t come out).

I’m one for signs from the Universe, and I’ll even go so far as to admit my brain immediately said, “God does some amazing things,” even though I’m agnostic. The significance of that rainbow… astounding.

The Tea Baggers were even there!

Why were we marching?

As we got closer to the White House, there was a line of women in pink cheering us on. It was the Breast Cancer Walkers. We cheered right back at them.

And then, there was this… another crowd of people cheering us on, above the words of the First Amendment.

Some of us in front of the White House, taking pictures of the March

Its the home stretch with Talker and DoodleBug

The crowd on the East Lawn

The rally continued while we all got some well-deserved ice cream.

And… there’s me (and the bandana!)… exhausted but ecstatic.

Words cannot express how life-changing it was to be part of something so good, so positive. To be able to walk with people who did not have to hide their love from the world, and to be able to tell them (just by being there) that we think its absolutely ridiculous to even have to HAVE this march, it was priceless. Being part of a crowd full of love, supporting each other and a good cause… there is no better feeling, except maybe being able to pass down that feeling to my children, one of who proudly wore his rainbow shirt, screamed the chants and waved his flags like there was no tomorrow.

Only, there is a tomorrow… and it shines with every color of the rainbow.