Growing up, until I was done with high school, I had two female first cousins who were almost as close to me as my little sister. They were the daughters of my mom?s brother and his first wife. And the four of us, a couple years apart each, played a lot together. But we grew apart when I graduated and moved out on my own.
Until this week, they did not know I had transitioned. I had meant to tell them for over a year. I knew the older one had a lesbian partner, and would be unlikely to react badly. Was not at all sure how the younger would react. But I had last seen the older one at my mom?s funeral in 2012, and the younger around Christmas 2015. All before I committed to full transition.
This week, the oldest one sent my girl FB account a friend request, which I accepted.
Long story short, the older cousin has had acceptance issues of her own, with one branch of her family saying she and her wife could only attend holiday gatherings together if they did not touch each other! My little sister (who has known about my transition for a year or two, accepts me, and knows I don?t care who she tells) visited the younger cousin, and on hearing about the older cousin?s troubles, my sister mentioned my transition. Younger cousin immediately called her big sis, using they/them pronouns to refer to me, as she was unsure of my preference. And the older cousin then contacted me, to congratulate me on my coming out!
