It’s not often that we have an opportunity to juxtapose moments in time and get a personal glimpse of how much the world has changed in our own lifetimes. A little over a month ago, my partner gave birth to our daughter, Ryan. While her arrival has brought with it a range of emotions, it was in contrasting her birth with the birth of my oldest daughter that has given me cause for great awe and optimism.

When I gave birth to Teresa more than 20 years ago, the world for LGBT people was very different. This time around, my youngest daughter has entered a world where the doctors who attended to my partner were not simply understanding that our child was going to have two moms, but embraced us and treated us with the greatest compassion and professionalism. One was even openly gay!

Ryan will grow up in a community that is more welcoming of her and her family, where she’ll regularly see other kids who have families like hers. She’ll have the comfort of groups like Family Matters and Family Pride. She’ll go to schools where we won’t be the first lesbian-headed family to walk through the doors, and she’ll live in a time where credible social science research shows that children raised by LGBT parents are doing just fine.

Indeed, there are many socio-political reasons that Teresa and Ryan will have very different experiences as the daughters of lesbian parents. But the credit largely belongs to groups like: LGBT parents and their children who have been out, visible and worked so hard to create a more welcoming and just world for their families; PFLAG; groups of political activists who have worked tirelessly to elect LGBT and LGBT-friendly Republicans and Democrats; and all of those who have shared their time, their talent and their precious resources to achieve the twin goals of achieving equality for all and providing a safety net of services for those who have been under-resourced.

The whole country is talking about Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; and indeed both men are personal heroes of mine. Both are business geniuses and both have deep commitments to using their success to make a difference in the world. And given their successes, what a difference they can make!

While few among us will ever realize the levels of success they have attained, there are many right here in San Diego’s LGBT and allied communities who share their belief that each of us has an obligation to help envision and create a different and better world, and who have worked hard to make those dreams a reality.

At The Center, there are now 18 young adults living in our Youth Housing Project. Whatever their diverse backgrounds, they share a past that included homelessness. No more. Today, they also share in a tremendous opportunity – to have a safe and permanent home, and to have access to a range of support services designed to help them transition into successful adult lives. Watching them begin anew at the Youth Housing Project could give even the most jaded among us cause for celebration and hope.

The 25th anniversary of the first reported cases of what would become known as AIDS has come and gone. While this pandemic continues to spread, I draw hope in the numbers of people who have committed to this year’s AIDS Walk San Diego. It shows me that even after the drain and strain of 25 years of living with this disease, we have not given up on our collective dream of ending it.

In spite of continued political attacks, our community – and fair-minded senators – fought back yet another attempt to write discrimination into our United States Constitution in the form of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Many Americans see this effort for what it is – another effort to pander to an extremist political base – and have said no once again to hate.

I also am inspired every day by the volunteers, donors, staff and board of The Center and those who serve other LGBT and progressive organizations. These hard-working, committed people continue to give their time, resources, talent, energy and passion to making our community stronger, healthier and more powerful. When you see people give so much of themselves to reach a common goal, you can’t walk away a pessimist.

While it’s true that we still have a long journey to reach our shared goals, I believe we must find the time to reflect on the victories and to honor and celebrate the generosity of spirit and commitment that our community has embodied for 30-plus years. Our perseverance, our commitment to service and our determination to achieve justice and equality has achieved much.

Many thanks to Ryan for giving me an opportunity to see it, even for just a few precious moments.