SOMA Living August 2022

THE LUQMAN-PASINOSKY FAMILY

Photography by Jamie Meier

The first thing you notice when meeting the Luqman-Pasinosky family is the joyful and loving energy of Alia and Theresa. You see the tell-tale signs of true love by watching the knowing glances between parents, the easy way they finish one another’s sentences. The two met at a party in Oakland, CA. They were invited by a mutual friend who was hoping to set them up. Theresa laughed, “She invited the only two lesbians she knew and expected us to become instant friends.” Theresa added, “It didn’t go well. Alia actually brought a date to the party!” Alia chimed in: “I instantly liked Theresa, but I didn’t want my date to think I was flirting with someone else.” Nonetheless, they managed to have just a 20 minute conversation where they discovered they both were originally from Southern California, had previously lived in Boston, and had moms from South America. Although they did not exchange phone numbers, they were both tagged in a picture on Facebook. At the time, Alia was pursuing a master’s degree in social work at the University of California, Berkeley. Theresa was working in marketing at a digital payments company in San Francisco. They met up in San Francisco’s Castro District for their first date where they went for brunch and the film, Milk. Simultaneously, they declared, “The rest is history!” Since then, Alia and Theresa welcomed three children: Malcolm, 9 years old; Leila, 7 years old; and Lucia, almost 2 months old. Alia and Theresa moved to the east coast after Theresa was offered a new job at Verizon in Basking Ridge, NJ. Alia lived in New York City for several years as an undergrad at Columbia University. She worked at The Center, an organization in The Village dedicated to the success of LGBTQ young people. Alia first learned about Maplewood from her colleagues there. Theresa wanted to live close to work, so they decided to make the move from Berkeley, CA to Morristown, NJ. Two months later, the pair, along with their two kids then, attended the North Jersey Pridefest in Maplewood. Alia explained, “Going to the Maplewood Pride festival was unlike any other Pride celebration we had ever been to. It felt like the whole Maplewood community had come together to celebrate Pride. There were so many kids there of all ages, and it was diverse in race, gender, and age.” Theresa quickly added, “It is important to us that our kids see themselves strongly reflected in the community in which they live. So, we decided right then and there that we HAD to move to Maplewood.” They immediately canceled their

AUGUST 2022 | SOMA LIVING 7

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