Yesterday I came out to my sister-in-law...

[Wendy-Lyn]

My brother passed away three years ago, but as I have no family apart from my elderly Dad, my sister-in-law and my two nephews basically ARE my family. I told her this, and she said that I would ALWAYS be 'family' to her. She and my brother were together for over 35 years, and loved each-other very much. He dressed, and she knew and was supportive, but she did not know about Wendy-Lyn.

There is no SO in my life, sadly, so I was seeking her advice about my wish to begin searching for a partner again after many years alone due to an abusive, violent relationship, and being reluctant (read: terrified) to be hurt again. She had never liked the woman concerned, but was shocked when I told her of some things that had been done to me that she hadn't known about. I had told my brother about some of it, but was too ashamed to tell him all at the time. I mentioned a couple of other issues such as my health, which may make forming a relationship harder, and then I said 'And on top of that, I've been dressing a LOT since I got out of hospital in May last year'.

And... She was fantastic! We talked about dressing for about an hour, both mine and my brother's, how and when he and I had gotten started, and about how they had handled it as a couple. And then she said that, had she known about Wendy-Lyn, I could have had my brother's things if I'd wanted them, rather than being donated - I would have, too, as I do know he had some lovely lingerie. She looked at some pictures of Wendy-Lyn, and checked-out a couple of my dresses, which she said were very nice. She said I looked very pretty, and that with my auburn wig I reminded her so much of my brother that she found it hard to look at the pics. I have a black one as well, which was my natural colour before I went grey.

She has let me know that I have her complete support, and that means so much to me. I told her that she is a very special woman (she is!), and that I had often envied my brother that he had such a great marriage and relationship when mine had been such a disaster, which she appreciated and thanked me for.