About Us, our family and our home

Carol and Cheryl met through being members in Boston’s premier and oldest all female motorcycle club in Boston by the name of Moving Violations. They were friends and service providers for the club during Cheryl’s first two years of club involvement, the first being her prospect year. We began to romantically date in the early fall of 2003 and moved in with Carol in November of 2003. They resided in the house that Carol had purchased with her former partner Sandra in 1992. Cheryl was politically active in the Freedom to Marry Movement, which was a large movement in Boston that worked for the right for same-sex couples to legally marry in the state of Massachusetts. Massachusetts went on to become the first state in the US to allow same-sex marriage. Cheryl had begun grassroots movement for toward same-sex marriage in Iowa, the second state to legalize same-sex marriage, which is where Cheryl had relocated from in February of 2000. at the end of May, 2004, same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts with the current governor being Mitt Romney. Governor Romney was a Mormon who was quite vocal in the media about doing all he could to have the court’s legalizing decision overturned and same sex marriages annulled. On the first day of legalized same-sex marriage, Carol and Cheryl decided they wanted to obtain a license to marriage and were the second couple to receive a license in Somerville, MA despite no plans set for a future wedding at that time. Within just a few days, Romney further threatened overturning the newly gained rights to marriage. Carol and Cheryl decided the risk of being denied the right to marriage outweighed the desire to wait and plan an organized traditional wedding. So, Carol and Cheryl decided to have a “pop-up” wedding the following week, June 1 (easy for Carol to remember). Invitations to Carol’s coworkers and a few close friends went out for all to meet after work hours on the wharf at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Carol greeted those attending while Cheryl changed into a wedding gown, purchased off the rack at David’s Bridal two before, in the parking garage under the hotel. No permissions were sought, they just had a Justice of the Peace perform the traditional ceremony. Carol’s best friend since they were 10 yrs old faith-graders, Donna stand up for her. Cheryl’s former partner, Lori was in town and visiting and stood up for Cheryl. Carol and Cheryl had made reservations at the restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel for 16 people attending including Carol’s mother, Eleanor.

Fast forward, due to Eleanor looking to sell the Scituate house which Carol grew up in, plans were made and the second bedroom was remodeled for her to stay with them part of the year while she spent the other part in Florida. The third bedroom in Somerville was remodeled into a TV/sitting room with guest stay potential for Eleanor. Due to health issues, Eleanor moved into Somerville house full-time. We all share the house with the true owners, our chihuahua mix Bebe and Frenchie Lil’ Mack and our feather friends, Emma the cockatoo and Gigi the cockatiel.