"Happy Accident"

The words scared me. When my daughter called me just after opening our art gallery on a Sunday morning, I couldn't help but feel frightened.  Accidents are forgetting to turn the lights off or leaving the water on. But in this case, we were lucky.

Because it was the most happy accident ever.

When I heard the news about marriage equality on Friday, the world opened up. I wanted to celebrate. And celebrate hard.

But it's difficult to show your support and celebrate in a small town. Being overtly political can have so many problems that bubble up and can make having a small-town business challenging. If people disagree, the world can shut you out, sales can dwindle, rent can't be paid, and you become just another failed business.

On Friday, I didn't really care about that.

The paint came first, then chalk. By Saturday, we had some beautiful chalk art in front of our little art gallery. Then the happy accident happened.

My daughter, Magnolia, forgot the chalk when she closed up shop. She forgot it outside.

The results were beautiful.

It's amazing what can happen when you leave yourself vulnerable.

By the next morning, the sidewalk in front of our gallery crept all the way down the street. The pavement was strewn about with love--love for equality, love for each other, love for love.

This is a precarious time: We are only six months into our gallery and 90% of galleries fail within the first year. Whether or not we survive, that's up to the art market in Lake Chelan. But we will continue to fly the flag for equality and wait to see what happens.

Let's celebrate, people. Today is a good day.