What an emotional roller coaster ride the last couple of days have been! My 28 year old daughter flew in from Boston to help me pack up the house for a major renovation. Everything had to be packed and put in the garage. After working all day Wednesday, we drove to Miami on Alligator Alley to visit my wife who is staying at her home in Miami while she undergoes chemo for recently diagnosed breast cancer. (I have to drive back and forth to supervise the renovations and be with her).
Since Alligator alley is 100 miles of straight road, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to come out to my daughter about Joyce. When the conversational opportunity arrived, I told her that I’m a much more complicated person and while the simplest description would be crossdresser, the more accurate description is transgendered. I described the trials and limitations of growing up in a time that one could be seriously injured or osticized for even bringing up the subject and how I decided 4 years ago to live the life I have always wanted.
Her response was positive beyond my wildest expectations. We spend the next 2 hours talking about the most intimate details of both our lives. We covered my desire to transition in detail. At one point, I handed her my iPhone with the Picture Album of me at dinner or trying on new clothes. She looked at it and asked me who it was. I replied that it was me and she was amazed. She remarked that she used to say that she had 3 mothers and a father (1st wife, second wife, third wife), but now she has 4 mothers! ( You may think I have relationship issues, but it’s a far more complex situation not involving gender issues. We all have a very friendly and supportive relationship that has benefited my daughter greatly. It takes a village?)
We got up early, I threw on my gym short and white T shirt and dropped her off at the airport. After we made the usual good-byes. She gave me a kiss on the check and said, “You’re beautiful.” Tears…. I’m so lucky. More tears….