Happy Pride!

I teared up a little when the flags went by today, which is strange because I don't normally feel quite so stirred by the stars and stripes. But I was at Twin Cities Pride.

If you've never been to a Pride celebration before, try to imagine "the happiest place on earth" minus the Disney stereotypes. But there is the same irrepressible joy.

When the flags came by at the beginning of the parade, I was proud. Of my country. Of my state and it's embrace of the LGBT community. It was lovely to see our senator, governor, and other elected officials waving at the crowd, not hunched in their offices, writing hate-filled legislation in the name of religion.

When I attend Pride, nobody wants to check my birth certificate. Nobody judges me for the excruciatingly boring clothes I'm wearing amid rainbows and glitter. Nobody stares at my sensible shoes. Instead I'm greeted everywhere with, "Happy Pride!"

This is the America I'm going to remember a week from now when we celebrate our independence. Not the hate in North Carolina and Orlando. But an America full of color and love. An America that welcomes me just as I am. And maybe I'll cry just a little.