Growing up in Miami, Lori Cimino described herself as, “stubborn and bratty” and someone who “dug my heels into whatever it was I thought I wanted.”
She was also a very competitive, skilled soccer player who joined boys’ teams while complaining that girls screamed and whined. “I had a mind of my own,” said Ms. Cimino, now 41.
In the ninth grade, after bonding with two deaf children in her neighborhood, Ms. Cimino became fascinated with sign language, learning everything possible on the subject and attending deaf community social events.
Later, after earning a master’s in special education for the deaf and hearing-impaired from the University of North Florida, she became a behavioral program specialist at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
While working there in 2003, a friend took her to a Christmas party in St. Augustine, whereupon Ms. Cimino began a conversation with Julie Durden, an instructional assistant at the same school.
Once they got going, Ms. Durden said that their conversation stretched on through their struggles with sexuality, romantic relationships (first with men, then with women), and how each had survived deep depressions and Machiavellian mates who cheated. “I loved her confidence, free spirit and how she engaged me by just being herself,” Ms. Durden said.
When the friends who had brought her to the party wanted to leave, Ms. Cimino, who then lived in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., departed, but unwillingly.
They hadn’t driven far when she asked to be let out at a liquor store. Not long after, as Ms. Durden, 41, recalled, “a taxi pulled up to the front lawn and out jumped Lori holding a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. I saw right away how Lori lives in the moment. And I liked it.”
Later that night, Ms. Durden, then living in St. Augustine, drove her new friend to Jacksonville Beach, where Ms. Cimino lived in a small pink house. “I kissed her, then slept on the couch,” Ms. Durden remembered. (Ms. Cimino said that she took it as a sign that “my dog Sunshine slept with Julie and not me.”)
The following week, Ms. Durden, who is also a singer and songwriter, asked Ms. Cimino to come hear her perform, but was surprised when she brought some friends.
“I thought this was odd, yet I knew she was interested,” Ms. Durden said. Soon they were dating regularly.
Within three and a half months, they were living together in a Jacksonville townhouse. When Ms. Durden sang and played guitar at her gigs, Ms. Cimino would sign for the deaf members of the audience.
“I would fall in love with her again and again at every show,” Ms. Durden said.
Still, they promised each other to be individuals first, then a couple, something Ms. Durden, who now teaches American sign language at Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Fla., said that she had never experienced in a relationship.
They would focus first on career and time alone, always giving the other space to pursue independent passions, such as Ms. Durden’s music writing, or Ms. Cimino’s running in races like the 200-mile relay from Miami to Key West.
When Ms. Durden, who was raised in a strict Pentecostal family in rural Live Oak, Fla., opened up about the struggles in her youth, Ms. Cimino, who came from a more progressive family in Miami, stood by her.
“I found Lori’s deep understanding of the human condition to be almost supernatural,” Ms. Durden said. “She told me that guilt is a useless emotion when I was buried in it. I healed when I let it go. She is a lifesaver.”
They had begun discussing having a child together when in April 2007, Ms. Durden’s 31-year-old sister, Lori Kines, suffered two strokes. Given that Ms. Cimino and Ms. Durden lived close by, they became constant caretakers to Ms. Kines and her 12-year-old daughter, Lindsey, who is deaf.
Over the next four months the couple organized school schedules for Lindsey, visited Ms. Kines in the hospital and, later during her time in rehab, calmed other devastated family members who came to town.
“Julie and Lori were there every step of the way,” said Ms. Kines, who has recovered. “I saw what an amazing couple they were.”
Jessie Durden, Ms. Durden’s mother, was initially reluctant to accept her daughter’s gay partnership, but became enlightened through this experience. “Any parent would be surprised when a child comes out,” she said. “Lori and Julie helped us tremendously. Spending so much time with Lori brought us all closer together.”
In December 2008, Ms. Cimino gave birth to the couple’s first child, Jessie (their daughter is named for Mrs. Durden) Sky Cimino-Durden. Ms. Durden said that while she was overjoyed, the changeover from lovers to parents left her feeling “like I was losing the Lori I had known for five years.”
Ms. Cimino said: “We fought a lot, and I did what I wanted even though Julie had other ideas. We were two moms from different backgrounds with no boundaries. We had to figure out how to do it.”
See more at:http://www.sheinbridal.co.u
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She was also a very competitive, skilled soccer player who joined boys’ teams while complaining that girls screamed and whined. “I had a mind of my own,” said Ms. Cimino, now 41.
In the ninth grade, after bonding with two deaf children in her neighborhood, Ms. Cimino became fascinated with sign language, learning everything possible on the subject and attending deaf community social events.
Later, after earning a master’s in special education for the deaf and hearing-impaired from the University of North Florida, she became a behavioral program specialist at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.
While working there in 2003, a friend took her to a Christmas party in St. Augustine, whereupon Ms. Cimino began a conversation with Julie Durden, an instructional assistant at the same school.
Once they got going, Ms. Durden said that their conversation stretched on through their struggles with sexuality, romantic relationships (first with men, then with women), and how each had survived deep depressions and Machiavellian mates who cheated. “I loved her confidence, free spirit and how she engaged me by just being herself,” Ms. Durden said.
When the friends who had brought her to the party wanted to leave, Ms. Cimino, who then lived in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., departed, but unwillingly.
They hadn’t driven far when she asked to be let out at a liquor store. Not long after, as Ms. Durden, 41, recalled, “a taxi pulled up to the front lawn and out jumped Lori holding a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. I saw right away how Lori lives in the moment. And I liked it.”
Later that night, Ms. Durden, then living in St. Augustine, drove her new friend to Jacksonville Beach, where Ms. Cimino lived in a small pink house. “I kissed her, then slept on the couch,” Ms. Durden remembered. (Ms. Cimino said that she took it as a sign that “my dog Sunshine slept with Julie and not me.”)
The following week, Ms. Durden, who is also a singer and songwriter, asked Ms. Cimino to come hear her perform, but was surprised when she brought some friends.
“I thought this was odd, yet I knew she was interested,” Ms. Durden said. Soon they were dating regularly.
Within three and a half months, they were living together in a Jacksonville townhouse. When Ms. Durden sang and played guitar at her gigs, Ms. Cimino would sign for the deaf members of the audience.
“I would fall in love with her again and again at every show,” Ms. Durden said.
Still, they promised each other to be individuals first, then a couple, something Ms. Durden, who now teaches American sign language at Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Fla., said that she had never experienced in a relationship.
They would focus first on career and time alone, always giving the other space to pursue independent passions, such as Ms. Durden’s music writing, or Ms. Cimino’s running in races like the 200-mile relay from Miami to Key West.
When Ms. Durden, who was raised in a strict Pentecostal family in rural Live Oak, Fla., opened up about the struggles in her youth, Ms. Cimino, who came from a more progressive family in Miami, stood by her.
“I found Lori’s deep understanding of the human condition to be almost supernatural,” Ms. Durden said. “She told me that guilt is a useless emotion when I was buried in it. I healed when I let it go. She is a lifesaver.”
They had begun discussing having a child together when in April 2007, Ms. Durden’s 31-year-old sister, Lori Kines, suffered two strokes. Given that Ms. Cimino and Ms. Durden lived close by, they became constant caretakers to Ms. Kines and her 12-year-old daughter, Lindsey, who is deaf.
Over the next four months the couple organized school schedules for Lindsey, visited Ms. Kines in the hospital and, later during her time in rehab, calmed other devastated family members who came to town.
“Julie and Lori were there every step of the way,” said Ms. Kines, who has recovered. “I saw what an amazing couple they were.”
Jessie Durden, Ms. Durden’s mother, was initially reluctant to accept her daughter’s gay partnership, but became enlightened through this experience. “Any parent would be surprised when a child comes out,” she said. “Lori and Julie helped us tremendously. Spending so much time with Lori brought us all closer together.”
In December 2008, Ms. Cimino gave birth to the couple’s first child, Jessie (their daughter is named for Mrs. Durden) Sky Cimino-Durden. Ms. Durden said that while she was overjoyed, the changeover from lovers to parents left her feeling “like I was losing the Lori I had known for five years.”
Ms. Cimino said: “We fought a lot, and I did what I wanted even though Julie had other ideas. We were two moms from different backgrounds with no boundaries. We had to figure out how to do it.”
See more at:http://www.sheinbridal.co.u
A
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