SAUGATUCK, Mich. — Frizzy, the Chinese crested dog, jumps through hoops made by her parents' arms. She's gotten good at it over the years.
She must have learned it best from her moms, Glenna DeJong and Marsha Caspar.
They're celebrating 10 years since the biggest hoop they've ever had to jump through — their wedding.
“We met at Michigan State University. I was working and getting my MBA and would go to the MSU women's basketball games. And Glenna was the shot clock keeper for the games. And I would sit in the stands and like admire her from a distance," said Marsha.
Through mutual friends, the pair were eventually introduced. Then Marsha got to admire Glenna from a shorter distance.
"It was love at first sight," Marsha said.
They never pictured a wedding day for themselves. Their state didn’t, either.
Marsha, a consultant for a fitness foundation, wasn't even out at her job. But things would soon change.
On March 21, 2014, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled the ban on same-sex marriage in Michigan was unconstitutional. And it was just in time.
"Judge Friedman came down at 5:15 on a Friday and announced his decision," said Glenna. "He knew that the state was going to appeal and ask for a stay, but that the circuit court was going to be closed after five o'clock so there would be some potential opening for couples to get married.”
Glenna woke up the next day with even better news — their county courthouse at their previous home in Lansing was one of just four in the state opening their doors that day.
“I woke her up and said, 'Hey, we have to get down there,'" said Glenna. "This was our opportunity. We did have the marriage license filled out and it was sitting on our table. So we grabbed that and ran on down there.”
Their engagement was a short one — the length of the car ride to the courthouse. It was without a proposal, or rings. Without even the knowledge that they were on their way to change history.
“Somebody yelled, 'We think you're the first!' And we said, 'the first what?'” Marsha said. "It was serendipitous that we got down there.”
Glenna wore white. Marsha, her favorite sweatshirt.
Printed on its cotton army green fabric, and just above a faded stain, a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them."
“I'm like, 'Are you going to wear that?' And she said, 'Well, yes, I love this sweatshirt.' And I knew not to argue after 27 years together," laughed Glenna.
"It's my happy sweatshirt," smiled Marsha.
In just hours, 322 other couples were wed. In a beige courthouse, on a gloomy March day, the feeling in the air was so joyous, the couple found it hard to describe.
“All the couples that were there just supported each other, served as witnesses that had to sign for each other. Somebody was there handing out roses, I would not have wished it were anything else," said Marsha.
"Everybody was just happy. And there were smiles everywhere and tears. And it was very, very exciting. Yeah, I wouldn't trade it either," agreed Glenna.
But the rainbow flags waved in celebration were soon dulled by the gray legal zone the couple was in. The state announced the decision was stayed.
“It actually made me mad. We were married legally. And now, the state's just gonna like take it away and say you're not married," said Marsha.
Glenna, who owned a business at the time, tried to join Marsha's insurance and was denied.
The pair were now part of an exclusive club — one of the few same-sex couples married in Michigan in 2014. It's a club they never wanted anyone to be excluded from.
So, they fought.
"As the first same-sex couples to be married, that we were going to fight for every other same-sex couple in the state of Michigan," said Marsha, "we kind of call ourselves the accidental activists.”
"We contacted the ACLU, and they filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan for not recognizing our marriages. And we became the lead plaintiffs in that lawsuit," said Glenna.
Once activists by accident, now acting with purpose, Marsha and Glenna advocated for something they wish they never had to — their love.
As they fought in court, their marriage vows still held strong. They were there for each other in sickness and in health.
“Marsha has had her medical issues. She's had an autoimmune disease her whole life," said Glenna. "Her kidney function has been declining.”
Marsha needed a new kidney at one point. Just as she is in life, Glenna was a match.
During an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic, they got a call. Glenna began to cry in the waiting room of the hospital. In a rare case for the setting, it was happy news.
On January 15, 2015, their marriages were approved.
"On the drive home, we were just blasting the music in the car. And we just kept saying, 'We're officially married! We're married!'" remembered Marsha.
Michigan would be forever altered by a love that simply wanted an altar, of its own.
“That was another great day. There actually were a lot of great days," Marsha smiled and looked to Glenna.
Now on their ten-year anniversary, Glenna and Marsha spend it on the couch with their dogs. Marsha wears her sweatshirt saved only for the happiest of occasions.
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