Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I posted my own thread here. A number of things have happened since January, when I came out on Facebook.

1. I celebrated my first ever Valentine's Day where I had a significant other. Cody and I actually ended up celebrating a very long Valentine's Day weekend from Friday the 13th until Tuesday the 17th. We started the weekend off with LuvFest, which was a fundraiser for my church's trans group - well specifically for the Christine Daniels Scholarship Fund. Christine Daniels was a transwoman who tragically de-transitioned and committed suicide. She was also a famous sports writer for the L.A. Times. We did a Trans 101, our own version of the Newlywed Show, and dancing and music.

On Valentine's Day, Cody surprised me with some bananas with peanut butter and coconut, arranged in a heart shape. We had a nice brunch feast, with egg salad, Indian "Uttapans" and Italian sausages. We exchanged gifts and cards. I will post sometime a picture of what he gave me (a cute stuffed animal dog He slept over at my place for six nights in a row!!!

2. I did a Skype Video chat with my mom and brother last Saturday. My father was not part of the call. It went very well. They were both very accepting. When my mom first saw me, she said "I have a daughter, I have a daughter." For the first time, my mom started referring to me by female pronouns. We talked more about my transition, as well about the weather and how awful the cold and snow is back east. I also told them that I go to MCC.

My mom thought that I make a pretty girl, and could tell that I am happier as a girl. She also said that I resembled three female relatives - interestingly when I look at myself in the mirror I see resemblances to the same three relatives. I also gave my brother my new email address. We also used my Skype account with Michelle on it, so for the first time my brother is getting my new contact info (email and Skype).

I thanked them for taking the time to participate in the call with me, and told them that I look forward to doing many more Skype video calls with them. We haven't set up the next one yet, but they want to do more calls too. Hopefully, one Saturday, or weeknight after work, I will do another call with them.

This is wonderful progress made with my family, their acceptance of me, and their re-gendering process of me.