If you haven’t seen this, check it out. Look past the subtitles for an artistic, upbeat and informative piece about a gender diverse teen. She’s adorable!
Teen Talks Blockers
09 Thursday Feb 2012
Category Archives: uncategorized
Squeaky Wheels
08 Wednesday Feb 2012
Posted in anger, coping, discussions, gender diversity, life lessons, my childhood, school, uncategorized
After about an hour on the phone with my hosting company I’d trudged through five people in four departments while holding for long, silent stretches. They told me there was nothing they could do to help me. This struck a chord for some reason. Instead of my usual {shrug} I did something that I don’t normally do…
Not Lost Anymore
29 Sunday Jan 2012
Tags
childhood trauma, gender diverse kids, Jazz, overcoming pain, releasing doubt, second chances, starting over, transgender kids
A muscle in my shoulder twitched before it went numb and then the dreaded pins-and-needles phase began. I wouldn’t move my thumping limb; however, as I felt that the barrier it provided from the rest of the world was more important than, oh, being pain-free. Ironic it would be the same shoulder crushed in an unfortunate and near fatal horse riding accident. Some nights I still wake up, now thirty years later, and I’m laying on my back with my lifeless thumping arm in the same traction position. Throwing the covers off from sweating, I’m just thankful it wasn’t a dream where I’m trapped beneath Scorpio’s hooves battling for my life.
Integration
25 Wednesday Jan 2012
Tags
activism, challenges, confidential, Jennifer Carr, living stealth, privacy, pseudonym, transgender advocacy
While prepping for a talk at the University of Chicago today I brought up my YouTube video and saw a face I hardly recognized. She hid behind her trusty glasses, her voice slow and steady as if she was choosing her words as carefully as she would select which colored wire to cut. One slip and kaboom!
Fiddling with the adaptors for the sound I commented to a person helping to organize the event that I hardly wore my glasses anymore when speaking. After I said it I felt an immediate sense of hiding I felt uncomfortable with back then, and now.
“What’s changed,” she asked.
“I guess I get less threats now…” I replied, and then the gravity of what I said sunk
Still Thinking of The Dream
17 Tuesday Jan 2012
Posted in uncategorized
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I’m still dreaming of a day when we’re all just accepted as people, no matter what our differences in appearance, expression, sexual preference or gender identity. Equal people.
From a Deep, Deep Sleep
03 Tuesday Jan 2012
Posted in acceptance, belief, Buddha, challenges, compassion, coping, family, fear, friends, gender diversity, gender identity, gender non-conforming, gratitude, grief, happiness, holidays, joy, life lessons, love, support, transition, uncategorized
Tags
awareness, compassion, gender diverse kids, gifts, gratitude, holiday cards, holidays, love, my kids, new day, parenting
Yawwwwn. As you might have noticed I took a tiny writing hiatus for the holidays so that I could mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally step back and just observe.
I’d love to share some revelations with you. Some epiphanies are big and need a little explaining. Some are silly. All of them sunk into my psyche in a deep, meaningful way during my vacation and without judging, I had a way of being with this awareness in a completely new way, like being taken to a party where I didn’t know anyone. I had to feel my way around, ask questions, and above all else, I had to listen. So, let’s begin…
I Thought I Lost You
15 Thursday Dec 2011
Posted in acceptance, belief, discussions, fear, happiness, joy, life lessons, love, memories, my childhood, secrets, uncategorized
Tags
blog, children, gratitude, joy, life lessons, light, loss, love, Today You Are You, Truth
One simple little swipe of my finger and this site was lost out there in cyber space like the Land of Misfit Toys. Address unknown.
Of course, as these things go, I didn’t notice what I had done. I thought I was leisurely checking out site improvements, sampling the bells and whistles, perusing what was out there to make my site faster, easier… better.
Clinging to the Shore
09 Friday Dec 2011
Tags
acceptance, challenges, communication, coping, emergency, ER, fear, gender diverse kids, medical providers, school, transgender kids
“Check in with your chaperone… Know where your medicine bag is… Talk with them before you leave… Before you leave, Hope!”
I felt myself go over the edge as I quizzed Hope this morning, yet I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Her life literally depends on this information and yet the more I pound in the who-what-where she peacefully glances out the window daydreaming about fairies and princesses and the next Judy Moody book. My panic is all mine.
Once the field trip form popped into my inbox, the gravity of the situation came into clear focus as though never before; she could potentially be in danger and not have anyone know how to help her. Like many children these days, Hope has a peanut allergy and carries a medicine bag with her 24/7. Allergies, and so much more.
Transgender Lost Under Gay Umbrella
09 Friday Dec 2011
Posted in uncategorized
My gratitude for our country discussing LGBT rights abroad wasn’t overshadowed by the headlines only mentioning “gay rights”, but it did force me to stop and think.
LGBT means Lesbian (society lumps them in “gay rights” so okay), Gay (right on target, good job!), Bisexual (in the general family if you squint) and Transgender (nothing to do with sexual orientation or being gay at all). So really, does that title of “gay rights” include and represent everyone mentioned in the article? Not a chance.
The Risk to Bloom
05 Monday Dec 2011
Posted in uncategorized
“And the time came when the risk to remain tight in the bud became more painful than the risk to bloom.” Anais Nin
As I lean back in this flimsy office chair deep in contemplation, one hand rests at my mouth as I chew the corner of my lip and I find that I’m reading this posted quote over and over. It’s like a sudden game changer, this quote. As soon as I absorb it my scattered brain is immediately returned to me. Gone are the elements of doubt, of fear, of apprehension. I’m grounded, yet again.
Here we are, Hope and I; we’re both struggling to stand in truth in a world that expects us to be something else. Like a boat tethered to the dock, we assume the movement of the sea floating back and forth between where we are supposed to be and the space that lies beyond. Moments of adventure send us into deep waters, and then peacefully navigate back to our safe harbor, our home. Luckily we are together, and we understand one another. We’re never alone.
