Tuesday evening.

 Hi again,

Sunday dinner went well. It was just the kids, their Mom and her newish husband and me.

Didn't see the former brother-in-law or his wife, I heard, "They were tired." We had a great dinner and spent lots of time chatting. 

I learned that my son's wife is in town with her parents to care for one of their sets of parents. Next weekend is the annual Pirate Fest in Vegas. Of course we are going and we're going to invite an additional guest! She's never experienced seeing me dressed. We'll see if she's willing to attend.

The niece of one of my co-workers was diagnosed a year ago with breast cancer. The niece is not doing well and the sickness is very aggressive, her prognosis is not good. I told my friend that his is exactly why I had to stop hiding my true self. (this is the woman who inspired me to "look pretty" for the office holiday photo.) Life is too short. Everyone needs to find the things that bring them joy and satisfaction.

Take care of yourself,

Heather

Easter! Sunday Best...

Hi!

Although I'm non-practicing, tomorrow's Easter. My oldest texted and invited us to dinner tomorrow evening. I'm thinking I'll go. Will my spouse go? Probably not but the door is open. There is a possibility that my ex-brother-in-law will be there with his wife. The last time I saw them was years ago, I had a subtle nail polish and I don't know if they noticed and don't care if they did.

Heather isn't staying home. I know I'm more welcome at my ex's house than they are! 

Being Easter Sunday, I'm thinking I'll wear my blue polka-dot dress. 

I think it will be fun. They're an interesting couple. really uptight and non-practicing Catholics. 

It will be nice to get to see my kids. I've been trying to not drive in to the city after the last couple of weeks, I had doctor visits and things to do almost every other day. It's about 150 miles, round trip and it gets expensive. Luckily, I don't mind driving.

I'll post an update after.... wait for it... after my doctor visit on Monday!

Yeah, I'm getting the rest of my nasal surgery done and this will be the pre-op visit and another series of tests to be sure I'm strong and healthy enough for surgery on 4/28 and so it goes.

Chat later.

Thanks for visiting.

Heather

TDOV, Visibility, publicity, awareness, social media and the flaws associated with it.

Hi again.

I've noticed that Facebook has been showing me lots of pages promoting the upcoming Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. 

Hmm. I didn't see any of these social media posts last week when March 31 was actually a thing that was upcoming. Truthfully, I didn't post anything about TDoV on Facebook this year but in the past few weeks I've liked and followed a few LGBTQ friendly pages and also some pages directed toward trans women.

I have accounts on a number of social media sites. Of course with technology, if you visit a topic... every portion of your computer or handheld device knows where you've been and will immediately suggest that topic.  On my facebook page, I posted a screenshot of the financial market indices and the advertisement was for Rago shapewear. 

I wonder what the people from my family, high school friends, acquaintances from former jobs and people I've encountered in life thought when there were lingerie ads in my screenshot. 

I question what the ulterior motive is.of social media. Of course, these billion dollar companies are trying to get your eyes on to their chosen topic and information. 

Time to be off.

Have a great weekend!

Heather.

Visiblility. Life. Family.

 

These colors don't run!

Good morning,

Monday was the big day. Much of world honored Transgender Day of Visibility and I was visible. I genuinely hope you were able to be out in the world as your true self. I worked a full day at the office and I wore a favorite dress. I haven't worn a dress to work possibly since my dressing as Marilyn Monroe on Halloween. The day was uneventful. A few co-workers called my dress cute.

The plan had been to take the kids out for dinner after work, they would be leaving the gym and head to the restaurant after. We spoke with the kids, chose a restaurant that agreed with everyone's dietary needs and restrictions, drove into Vegas and shared a couple of hours of pleasant company.  The place we picked is called Greens and Proteins. https://www.greensandproteins.com/ It has a menu that has meat and non-meat items. The kids had never been to this place but seemed to like it for a number of reasons. It's near their gym and it's very close to their Mom's second house. 

We had a nice time. The restaurant wasn't too busy, it was a Monday, but there was a steady stream of patrons getting to-go orders and sitting to eat. The "me" part of the experience was fine. I never felt uncomfortable or threatened or unwelcome. I think that most people are just not worried about other people trying to live their lives. On the way home, we stopped off at McDonalds for a McFlurry and milkshake. Meh.

And that's how I spent my summer vacation... LOL.

Nah, that's actually how I spent Transgender Day of Visibility.

Heather

ps. I hope you had a way to present your real self this past Monday. Going out is important. We need to prove that we're not the monsters we're portrayed to be by certain people. We have always existed and as I said in the first sentence, these colors don't run.