As Proud As Can Be

[Karen62]

Jorja, Grandma Tita gave you a second chance to live your authentic life (once you eventually left the service, as I recall), and you have gone on to repay that debt at least 10 times over. You can deny the Mother Teresa comparison, fine. But Mother Jorja lives on, not only in the hearts of those young women to whom you've also given a second chance at an authentic life, but also in the hearts of all of us here as well by your example. I know I am proud of the Annie and Jennifer for their brag-worthy success, but I am also really proud of you. A heartfelt thank you from me to you for just being the woman that you are.

Love and affection,

Karen

[phylis anne]

Well done Jorja Grandma Tita would be very proud of you and the greater reward you may live long enought o see is that all of the girls you have helped will also pay foward in some way
hugs phylis

[Marleena]

Society still has a long ways to go. It's really a sad state of affairs when parents discard their own children for being "different". Luckily there are people like Tita and now Jorja that give these kids a chance at a good life despite being TG/TS. Jorja's kids and of course Jorja are proof that they can be productive members of society despite the stigma attached of being "trans".

[Amy Fakley]

Reading this thread has been such an inspiration!
Jorja, congratulations to your girls, and congratulations to you as well.

It occurs to me that for each of these hateful, self-centered, myopic parents YOU stepped in and did the damn work they refused to do. And I'll bet it wasn't easy work either. That is love. Real love, not the talking kind.

So when you hear people who would preach love with a twist of hate ... those talking heads who are continuously rationalizing hate for people who are different, as "love for family values" or "love of cultural tradition" or whatever .... well just remember who talked the talk, and who rolled up their sleeves and did the work.

[franchesca]

Awesome job Jorja! You're an inspiration and a shero to us all!!!

[Eringirl]

I can only say thank you. Thank you for being a survivor and accepting help from others (Grandma Tita), Thank you for extended the tradition and bringing those girls into your home. You made their lives possible. Thank you for sharing this story with us. Tremendously heart warming and made me proud to be a part of this forum.

Erin

[Bria]

Jorja, now you went and made me cry hearing your story about Grandma Tita and yourself as a teenager. You may not be Mother Teresa, but you sure as hell are Grandma Jorja. May all sorts of blessing come your way, you deserve every one of them!!!

Hugs, Bria

[Rachel Smith]

Ya gotta love a story that makes you cry. Grandma Tita is proud of the girl she raised just as you are and rightfully so on both parts.

[Barbara Ella]

Such a happy moment. Thank you so very much for making the lives of these sisters so much better.

Barbara

[DebbieL]

Jorja,
I know how much you have helped so many people on this forum (including me), and I remember the struggles I had when I was growing up. My parents were very loving and very caring, but they had been told by a psychiatrist that I would have to be treated with severe methods (shock, lobotomy) if I persisted in the delusion of thinking I was a girl. Of course, that was back in 1960.

I so wish I had had someone like you to talk to. My parents were loving and understanding, but they took a "don't ask don't tell" position. There were times when I would pretend to be sleeping, with my spaghetti straps showing as my mom or dad tucked me in when they came home, and yet they wouldn't say a word. About the closest they came to supporting me was when mom and I were the same size. Mom asked if I wanted to go clothes shopping and I jumped at the chance. I helped her to pick out a more up-to-date wardrobe, and then after she wore some items for a few weeks she would put them in the "goodwill bag". I could take anything I wanted out of that bag, and I could keep any pantyhose that had a knot in them - even though many knotted ones were in perfect condition.

Mom also encouraged me being the housewife, so I got very good a cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, sewing, I could even knit and crochet. When I was 12, I would babysit my little brother and sister. Essentially in everything BUT the wardrobe, I acted like a girl, and chose to do so. We could volunteer for chores, and I took most of the indoor housework chores. I still had to mow the lawn, which I hated, but my younger siblings liked to be outdoors, so they did the rest of the outdoor stuff. My dad used to say "One day you'll marry a rich lady doctor and be her perfect wife". The smile on my face when he said it was obvious.

Thank goodness the laws and medical practice have come so far. Even in the last 15 years it seems like there has been a quantum leap in the acceptance and tolerance of transgender people. People are downright nice most of the time. I think I've heard 5 rude comments in the last 4 years.

[flatlander_48]

Knowing how these two started out in life, I am amazed how things have turned out for them. I am just so proud of these girls, I just had to tell someone.

For them, and you:

"Living Well Is The Best Revenge..." (George Herbert)

DeeAnn

[Leanne2]

Jorja, What Starling said! I wish I could meet you in person so I could give you the "Biggest Hug Ever!" (spoken like a valley girl with emphasis on the word ever) We should coin a new phrase about what you do. We can call it " Trans-Foster care." Yes! That's it. Lets start Trans-foster care all over this country to give transgender kids a chance. How about it girls?........................Leanne

[donnalee]

Jorja, that's wonderful news; even more when you consider that this is the 10th kid to do this!
It is really great to hear that someone is willing to step forward and rescue an abandoned child in this way and totally reprehensible
that someone would act like this toward their own child. The mind reels at such unthinking cruelty.

[Jorja]

Thank you for all of your comments.

While you and I find it totally reprehensible that someone would act like this toward their own child, these are the better cases. Some are treated even worse. Times are changing. More parents are seeing that being transgender isn't as terrible as it once was. Yet, there are still a few that will never change.

I am just glad I am able to catch a few cases and make a difference in their lives. I wish I could help in every transgender life.