As 2011 began to come to a close (I mean this was within the last seven days of the year), Mikey and I were having a conversation one evening.  Mikey was telling me that he recently read a blog about someone who asked gay couples to live in a “glass house” for a month to show the public that being gay is more similar to the straight community than some would like to admit. The creator of this concept called it “The Gay Agenda”.

You see, the conservative party and the religious right like to throw around the term “gay agenda”. It is part of their fear approach to scare people in this country about this “dark side” of being gay. They use it to promote the myth that gays will recruit your children (um, has a gay person ever rang your doorbell and asked you to join homosexuality) or that we will force churches to recognize a marriage between two individuals of the same sex (um, I don’t see anyone forcing the Catholic church to preform ceremonies and sign off on the marriage of a protestant couple) or that we will fraud companies by claiming individuals under out benefits packages when we are not really in a relationship (don’t worry, heterosexuals have been doing that for decades). The gay agenda is this made up concept which is used to scare your everyday individuals of homosexuals. It is all based in myth.

So here is The2Mikes’ Gay Agenda:

• We wish to live our lives as a couple
• We would like to have children and build a family
• We wish to have the same rights granted by the federal government as anyone else
• We would like to know that the other can visit us when we are sick in the hospital as our family
• We wish to know that the other will be the one to make final medical decisions
• We wish to know that the other will be the one to make our final arrangements when we are gone
• We wish to receive what we have built as a couple without having to go through the legal system and without paying estate taxes
• We wish to adopt children as a couple and not as a single individual and then go through the WHOLE process again to have a second parent adoption granted
• We wish to not be outcast from the communities that we live and work in simply because of who we love
• We wish to have ALL the same privileges that heterosexuals take advantage of EVERY day without even realizing it is a privilege

So hear is what The2Mikes decided to do that last week of 2011. We are going to put our lives out there, so that anyone can see what our lives are like. During 2012 we will post events, issues, trips and the everyday living of our lives here in the northwest panhandle of Florida. Some things may be very gay focused but I have a feeling 90% of the post will show two people who love one another and working to exist in this world. It will show how we strive to achieve our goals and how we support one another on those rainy days of life.

I will post my items via blogging. I have a feeling Mikey will post most of his items via pictures and vlogging. We both look forward to what materializes from this site over the next year. We both hope that through out posting that you get a sense of who we are as humans, as a couple, as a family, our friends, our family, and our lives.

So I only have one more thing to say, Welcome to an insight into the lives of The2Mikes!

Last week we took the girls, Tilly (a saluki) and Corri (a cocker spaniel/golden retriever mix), to the veterinarian. All the reports came back great with the exception that Tilly has lost some muscles in her hind legs due to lack of exercise. The solution: she needs to be walked in order for her to get the exercise she needs. What, being in the backyard and sleeping all day does not constitute exercise? Well, okay. If we must we will. 5:30 pm today, Mikey and I decide to go for a walk and take the girls. We get the leashes out and the second Corri sees hers she goes ballistic. When she sees the leashes she knows it is time for adventure. We get the leashes on the girls and head out the door. We start down the sidewalk and on our way.

Now, it has been over a year (maybe two years) since the girls have been on a walk. In the past, Corri would walk all over the place taking in the smells. She moved from left to right; in the grass and on the sidewalk. All the while, her head is down and she is smelling. Tilly walked with her head down and moving directly ahead. The leash usually has no slack in it and she is on her mission. Her eyes are focused in front and all her stimulation is taken in through her vision. Because one moves in a direct line and the other moves left to right, Corri usually trips up Tilly with the leash and it becomes the frustrating part of the walk. That was not the case tonight.

Remember, there is a point to the walk. Tilly needs to get exercise to build up her legs. So here is the picture tonight. Corri is excited about the walk. She is moving left to right and taking in the smells. Tilly, however, is slow to get started. She stays to the side of Mikey and seems to be slow. There is no mission to her walk. As we turn on to the other street she begins to move into the mode we are familiar with. Her head is angled slightly down and her legs are moving gracefully. She is herself! We make it to the end of the street and turn around. Corri is taking in the smells and Tilly begins to slow down a bit. As we come to the end of the walk Tilly is tired. She makes it the last stretch by Mikey’s side or even at times behind him. we can tell she is relieved to be home. She has spent the rest of the evening sleeping on the couch and not moving from couch to chair to couch as she usually does.

As we walked, I began to realize that humans are not much different than dogs as far as the aging process. Tilly is getting older and we are beginning to see the effects on her. I began to reflect on my own aging process. By watching Tilly tonight I can see my future path. It may not be for several years, but at some point, I will walk slower and take in less. A walk of thirty minutes will feel like and hour. And I know that I will be happy to arrive at the door step of our home. I will be happy to simply doze on the couch as I recover from a simple task which I accomplished.

As we begin 2012, it is important to reflect and remember what we learned over the last year. It is a time to remember and a time to plan for the future 366 days. We hope for a better year and have faith that we will accomplish new goals. I know I will be presented with new challenges but due to what I learned in the past I will be able to over come each one. And just like Tilly, I will approach this new year one step at a time. I will enjoy the walk. I also know each walk will become easier and easier as long as I stick to the goals I set for myself. If I stumble along the way (and I know I will) I will have my friends and family to help me up. For as I love them, I know they love me as well.