Little surprises make the world go round.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to share this until just now. I've been mulling around being selfish and keeping it to myself or sharing it. The thing is that as selfish as I want to be, this was such a loving gesture that I really need to share it and give thanks.

I went to the mailbox recently and in there was a letter addressed tome from my sister. It was in a card envelope so my first reaction was that it was an invitation to a family event, I certainly wasn't prepared for the contents and it touched me very deeply when I opened it and read it.

Inside the envelope was the following poem~

Sisters
It's good it's bad- it's happy it's sad
It's often misunderstood
It's love, it's war it's so much more-
This thing called sisterhood

Serene Sensational
Incredible Inspirational
Superb Sincere
True Throughout the year!!
Educated Exceptional
Radiant Respectable
Simply Sisters both dear!!

We're cried on we're relied on,
We're sisters until the end.
We hear, we share-we dare to care,
We're family and we're friends

Love Tammy
When I read it I was taken back. When in the middle of transition my sister and I reconnected I had such a hard time with whether I should tell her about her little brother's secret. I've labored because Tammy and I have always been close and it was something I had been afraid to damage. I know it wasn't easy for her to understand when I told her. I was expecting the worst like most trans people do. But I was pleasantly amazed when she told me that it would take sometime for her to get used to it and try to understand it.

As time and questions would flow she would start referring to me as her sister in emails. She never wanted to burden me with her bad days, only if to make sure I was ok in my new life. She's never asked anything of me and always made sure to be there if I needed to talk. I cannot and would not ever ask for a better sister than my sister Tammy. From the time we were young till now she has always been dear in my heart. In fact, she was there for the birth of my daughter.

You can understand how a letter like this can hit you. It's a warm feeling not only being loved but accepted and included such as this. This is one of those gestures that is not only moving but is significant enough to be framed and put on my wall to remind me that I have a beautiful, loving sister who will always be there for me.

Tammy, I thank you for this gift from the bottom of my heart and I love you dearly …
Your Sis Karyn XOXO

Taking a look around, re-evaluation

I guess you could say I've been on a bit of a sabbatical recently, a self imposed one at that. I kind of felt like it was time for a reevaluation after some minor things got into my head. For some it would simply meaning turning the corner and moving on to the next phases of my life and for others it would be assumed that I'm distancing myself. I can assure that isn't the case.

After some soul searching recently I realized that beyond the economy, layoffs, etc that there was something else gnawing at my soul. I've been wearing the "trans" sign a little too much and not learning to just be Karyn. This became apparent to me several weeks ago after a minor difference in point of view with a friend and some talking with another one to get things into perspective. For trans people, I am simply one of them and should be proud of who I am, no doubt I am but I'm learning that I'm not proud because I'm part of a community like that; I'm proud because I'm a good person and people like me for who I am, not what I'm defined as.

Over the last 3 years there had been a blurring of lines for me Male/Female/Transgender and I was allowing the final part to not only identify me, it was creating havoc with me emotionally. I had lost the feeling of being female for a movement or to break it down, I lost my own unique identity in lieu of being unified under a label.

In doing this, my fear every time I stepped out of the house was that someone would "figure" me out or guess my secret. The reality is that I needed to step out of the house just being Karyn. To some degree I had started to step backward. I've since learned that I need to focus more on the things I have in common with the people in my life and less on the things that label what I'm going through. That's the key, what I'm going through, not who I am. Lately since this has sunk in I am getting back to that sense of peace that I had felt like I was starting to lose again. As a whole, I'll have more conversations about things like music, clothes, guitars, makeup, shoes etc and a lot less about being "trans"

One of the things that have been irking Diane and I is the idea that I need to thank my lucky stars I have her because most women wouldn't stay. To some degree I understand this point of view but honestly, I'm not as lucky as people think. It's sad that people need to put boundaries on things like love. Isn't it possible that not only am I lucky to be loved by Diane but she by me? Don't I bring a lot to the table that makes her want to be with me? At what point did our relationship become so one sided that I needed to be "grateful" that she didn't dump me. Honestly, the more we hear this comment, the more insulted we are becoming by it. For the 2 of us, love is love and it isn't defined by what's between our legs. Sex is great but lets face it, it's a fraction of our lives together and I've not gotten a lobotomy people, smarten up, it is insulting to infer that she is in love with my penis, no wonder lesbians actually "get it" …

Things at work and with friends personally have been going well but I am starting to get frustrated with people not making the change over. There have been a few instances these past few weeks that really stick out.

A friend of mine here keeps calling me "Kev" and "he, him" etc. I am trying to be patient with him because he's just getting up to speed and he says he supports me but here's the kicker. When it comes time to make a joke "He'll put his hand up in the air over something I've said and say ..sheesh, women" . Why is it he can get the pronouns correct in jest?

Out to dinner with friends recently (Who are supportive) my friends wife referred to me as "He" several times. I could see Diane cringe when it happened. Right after she had done this, the waitress came over to take our orders and when she turned to Diane and I she simply asked "And what can I get you ladies"

YES! Vindication! Hopefully she picked up on it!

This week I had a hair appointment for a haircut, root touch up and I finally loosened up a bit to have a little fun. I needed to get some of the old "rock and roll" me back so I had a few blond patches added in my hair. I'm thinking it looks pretty cool and matches a little more of what my personality was like before I started transition.
In the local news recently a few big issues have come up that are noteworthy

Massachusetts has loosened up its policy on driver's licenses and now you can have your gender marker changed to reflect your gender identity provided you have proper documentation that you are being treated for GID. Kind of makes me wish I were living back in Mass now for just that privilege.

Mass and NH are now in process of debating and trying to get Gender Identity protections against discrimination. I was asked to speak at the NH statehouse in regards to this but I couldn't take the time off from work right now. I did however hear that the bill had no opposition in attendance! Woot, maybe we are finally going to be on equal footing!

Other than those life just kind of sails along and I'm just trying to be. The next thing I'm hoping for is the end of winter and the demise of snow .. just sayin ..

Hope you're well

~K~

Hiking today

Feb 4

Happy birthday to my darling Dee! I grow to love you more with each
passing day!

Xoxo your Karyn