I've been busy. Lots going on. Still living my live authentically. Yes, I still have days where I am out in public as the "old me" rather than the new, feminine me. I have NOT gone back to boy mode for work since I started the journey but I have worn jeans and leggings to work.
Yesterday I saw a social media posting from my cousin about their sibling's kid and their journey to transition. I haven't seen most of that side of my family in person since my Mom's Mom passed away back in the early nineties. Based on the length of time it take me to post on my own blog, I bet you can just imagine how great my "keeping in touch" skills are with people I actually know and am related to... Blah, blah, blah... I know never end a sentence with a preposition.. LOL.
I'm the social media friend to 4 out of 5 of that set of cousins and both parents, well their Dad passed a couple years back.. so I guess I'm now just the friend of their Mom on that social media site. . Yadda, Yadda.
My Uncle was in the military and a bit of a hardass, I remember a time when their family visited my house when I was little. Their five kids, my sister and me and the four adults packed into our small kitchen. I have no recollection of what we ate (maybe spaghetti?) but I do remember that the kids weren't allowed to drink their milk until they had cleared their plates. The bunch of us kids must have ranged from about five to twelve years old. I recall thinking my uncle seemed mean because of not letting the kids dring.. After retiring from the military, they moved to the Dayton, Ohio area. They all seemed to lead okay lives until adulthood. Three of the sisters became widows within about ten years and the other sister has been out since the mid-nineties but living in the Cincinatti area wasn't welcoming for a gay woman. She later moved to Southern California and had a family.
I am sure that my uncle was a diehard member of the GOP and having seen some of the social media postings of his only son, my cousin... I think he shared Dad's viewpoint. I know my cousin uses Facebook and he has a Twitter account that has not been active in a few years. I had looked at both Facebook and Twitter reading his activity and interactions with his nieces and nephews and remember seeing disparaging comments. You now know that I'm not connected to my cousin who is the kid's actual parent on social media I use the term kid lightly, My offspring are "kids" but they're all in their thirties. So my cousin's thirty something kid with a Master's in Education is transitioning. Never met them. Really proud of them! Their Aunt posted the info online and also shared a link to a crowdfunding site to help pay their way on the road to transition. I replied to the Aunt's posting with something along the lines of "it's important to be true to yourself and awesome to be able to know each step is a wonderful turn toward an amazing journey. Shortly after I replied, their Aunt liked my comment. Woot! We donated to the cause. I said to my wife that I may not be able to afford the cost to do anything myself but I'll help a younger sister along. I get up this morning and have a notification on social media that the kid's father "liked" my statement.about being true to one's self. I hope he treats his kid with the respect that they deserve. I'm glad they're doing this while they're young and able to enjoy living authentically. I can only imagine what my life would have been like if I had the knowledge I now possess back when I was young.
I'm glad for the person transitioning. It's a scary time in our world. I live in rural Nevada, surely not the most welcoming community to be non-binary. The young person lives in North Carolia! I hope their community offers support!
My own kid is nonbinary. I offer absolute support for them!
As a person who still struggles with a bit of fear when walking out the door, even after a year and a half of living everyday in feminine mode I offer all the positive energy and strength to them and their spouse.
Heather
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