Passed the "Two-year-old" test

[Melissa Anne]

I had a very fun and interesting day on Saturday. Just a little background first. I'm married to a wonderful and supporting woman. I only dress about once a month, but I do it at home and with her full support and usually some participation too. I also have two daughters, 2 1/2 years and 9 months. My wife and I decided that we would not tell our daughters about Melissa and that we would avoid letting them see me dressed after they were 1 year old, figuring that they would not remember anything before that. Anyhow, that now requires my wife to take the kids out for the day to visit relatives when I'm going to dress, or sending the 2 year old to grandma's house for the weekend, which we do quite often. This past Saturday we had a "Melissa Day" planned but grandma was out of town and could not take my two year old. It was also snowing and I did not want my wife out driving on the slick roads with the kids while I was home playing dress-up. I volunteered to give up my dress up time, but my wife didn't want me to miss my planned day because the next few weekends are busy and I haven't dressed since early November. We decided that I would spend the morning in the bedroom with the door locked getting ready, as the girls would just think I was at work. After lunch, she would put the girls down for their usual naps and I could come out of the bedroom. Our plan was to wait until we heard the girls wake up, and then I would step out on the front porch, wait a minute or two, and then ring the door bell. My wife told the two year old that her friend Melissa was comming to visit. Let me stop and tell you a little about my two year old before I continue. She is a very smart and sociable little girl and she is also a "daddy's girl". She loves her daddy and sometimes crys when I have to go to work. I was not sure if she would recognize me or not and I was very worried about my voice as I don't have the femme voice down yet. However, my wife was confident that our plan would work. Anyway, to continue, I rang the bell and my wife let me in. It was a little difficult because I had to act like a visitor in my own home. My two year old was a little shy at first and hid behind her mom. I talked to her in a softer and slighlty higher voice and asked what her name was and tried to be friendly too her. My wife also reassured her that everything was ok. I was worried that she wasn't buying it, but it didn't take long for her to warm up to Melissa. After a few minutes she started showing me the toys that she got for Christmas and she wanted to show me her room. At one point she told me that her daddy was at work, so that put me at ease knowing she hadn't recognized me. We had a fun afternoon watching a movie and playing a board game together. One really cute thing happened too. My wife hardly ever wears make up and I don't think my daughter has ever seen her put any on. At one point during the afternoon, I pulled out my compact and lipstick from my purse, which I had taken with me to the door, and touched up my make up. My daughter was totally transfixed on me while I did this and when I finished she said "ooooo..pretty". My wife and I both thought it was so cute. Anyway, we eventually had some dinner and put the girls to bed. It was a fun day and I passed as a woman in front of my two-year-old. I don't know if I could do it very well in public, but my daughter didn't read me. We probably won't be able to do that much more either because as she gets older she will undoubtedly start to catch on. But it was a fun day on Saturday spending time with my wife and girls as Melissa :happy:.

[KandisTX]

Melissa,

What a wonderful story, and it turned out well for you, this time. ;) I want to urge you to err on the side of caution in the future as there is one constant in our lives. You cannot hide from children, they will, and often do see right through the disguises we as human beings wear. They can see right through our femme disguises and know, almost instinctively who and what we really are. This is not a bad thing mind you, just something I have noticed in my many years since my own coming out and having had interactions with children of all ages.

Kandis:love:

[Sharon]

Don't be surprised if your daughter one day mentions her daddy's "pretend" day. :happy:

[Jilmac]

Melissa you are tops, a thumbs up for you, your wife, and your sweetheart of a daughter:thumbsup: Luv and :hugs: Jill

[MJ]

aww wonderful story thank you. Melissa

But you should not have to hide this part of you .. in fact none of us should have to hide..
i hope you and your wife can find a way to help your children understand and accept all of you ..

[KandisTX]

aww wonderful story thank you. Melissa

But you should not have to hide this part of you .. in fact none of us should have to hide..
i hope you and your wife can find a way to help your children understand and accept all of you ..

MJ, you are partially correct in that statement about not having to hide, however with children of certain ages, it becomes imperative that we must NOT allow the to know, children in the age ranges of 2 - roughly 8 or 9 are not yet able to understand what it means to keep something secret. They will say things they shouldn't say and they will do so because they do not yet know the differance between when is and is not the "right" time to say something. We, as parents must maintain a sense of decorum when it comes to telling our children certain things and this is one of the biggest we must pick the right time to tell them.

Kandis:love:

[Melissa Anne]

Melissa,

What a wonderful story, and it turned out well for you, this time. ;) I want to urge you to err on the side of caution in the future as there is one constant in our lives. You cannot hide from children, they will, and often do see right through the disguises we as human beings wear. They can see right through our femme disguises and know, almost instinctively who and what we really are. This is not a bad thing mind you, just something I have noticed in my many years since my own coming out and having had interactions with children of all ages.

Kandis:love:

Thanks Kandis. Both my wife and I know that this won't be a regular, if ever again, event. Circumstances, and a little curriosity to see if I could pass around her, led us to try it. One day when our kids are older we will likely tell them. But we don't want to burden them with any more worries than they have to deal with now.


Don't be surprised if your daughter one day mentions her daddy's "pretend" day. :happy:

Sharon,
If she does remember, hopefully it will be a good memory and help her to understand a little better. We'll deal with that when it happens I guess.


aww wonderful story thank you. Melissa

But you should not have to hide this part of you .. in fact none of us should have to hide..
i hope you and your wife can find a way to help your children understand and accept all of you ..

MJ,
Thanks. My wife and I both feel that kids have too much to worry about these days. Since I don't dress that often, them knowing would be just one more thing for them to deal with that really should not be a big part of their lives. Even if they were ok with it, the whole keeping it a secret thing can be very stressful for adults, let alone kids. Maybe one day when they are older we'll share it with them, but for now we'll try our best to keep daddy and Melissa separate when possible.

[Michelle 51]

I enjoyed your post very much.I,m glad you all had a fun time justabit

[Nicole Erin]

How much you expose her to Melissa is up to you. The important thing at this point is to raise her without prejudice.

It is when the kids start school that one has to really watch how they act and dress cause kids love to tease.
My 11 year old son knows [I think] but doesn't ask about it. He is Mr Masculinity and all. Last time he saw a CD [me or a friend] he was too young to remember.

If anyone knows the best way to handle this, let me know.

Who knows, maybe one day if she finds out, she will still want "Melissa" to come over and visit. ;)

[vivianann]

that is such a lovely story. :hugs: what a wonderful wife and family that you have there. always love and cherish them whatever you do.:love:

[susanmichelle]

I think that was an awsome story about you and your daughter. It was a great way to have her see you in a different light so to speak. Don't be suprised if she realizes it though some time soon as kids are so much smarter than we ever give them credit for sometimes. But I do think you handled it well. Its so nice to have a supporting wife too that wanted to let you share yourself and not miss your fun day, very unshelfish of her and thats wonderful in its own sense. All the best to you and your family in the new year and hope you can do that again someday soon too. I think kids should be brought up to not be judgemental and open minded of all the different cultures out there. She will see it for herself later in life anyway and I just think that kids should be allowed to see the different cultures and then when they are older they can base non judgment usually based on what their parents teach them in their young life. Just my :2c: worth. :hugs:

[docrobbysherry]

Melissa, As a father and CD, I found the story about your family, both lovely and slightly disturbing!
Thank u for adding the other posts. I feel much better about your realistic plans for Melissa's future with your children!
I am also divorced. U know how lucky u r, I hope? Keep it up, u r a good father and husband!
RS