An Honor To Be Included

Before my trip, I already knew that Suzanne and Patti are wonderful women. I've had many pleasant experiences with them, in New York and Vancouver, and count them as friends. During our joyful evening together last night, something deeper occurred to me. These wonderful friends accept me as a woman. In real ways.

Not only do they call me by my real name and notably use female pronouns but they include me in their female conversation and activities. We confide, we gossip, and we made plans to go thrift-store shopping today with high tea afterward. These gals are conscious of my struggles and compassionate toward them. For instance, they asked whether and how I can try on female clothing when shopping and if I'm comfortable taking pictures of our haul. Suzanne and Patti are naturally intuitive, entertainingly expressive and impressively communicative.

Wow. I can't describe how good this makes me feel. It's like I've been in the desert my whole life and now I see an oasis, hoping it's not an illusion. Being among these women is an honor. And I mean that seriously; it's not hyperbole.

Toronto Adventure

I'm heading up to Canada tomorrow morning. I'm visiting the lovely Suzanne who lives in Toronto. Joining us from Florida is stylish Patti.

The three of us met there last year and had a ball. These gals are fun and playful. I enjoy their company immensely. Here are some pics from last year's trip.

Soothing The Wound

The hardest part of my life was between ages 5 and 12. I knew something was terribly wrong but, despite constant protests, I was powerless to fix it. Everyone told me I was a boy and yet I knew that was wrong. My parents, teachers and even strangers corrected my frequent assertions of feminine behavior and dress. Later, in my teens, I came to accept my fate as unavoidable and learned to adapt to a misshapen life as a man.

Why this snippet of autobiography? It explains the emotional force of today's outfit. From the instant I spotted this dress on the rack at Rosie's Vintage I was mesmerized by it. The dress is exactly the style worn by girls my age in my youth. Feminine and childlike. You can't imagine the depth of my longing to wear a dress like this back then, the ache of having it withheld from me. It felt as far away as Mars.

So, I snapped the dress up to soothe those old psychic wounds. And am wearing it today. I adult-icize it with some cute heels from Torrid. (Yes, I'm a big girl and shop there.)

Thoughts?

The Vixens

Have you ever wanted to belong to a gang? With strong women who have your back? Well, now you can!

Join The Vixens, the coolest girl gang around. The only requirement for admission is being my friend. If you can jump that bar, you're in.

There are perks to membership but they're secret so only members learn about them. Don't be shy; come join the gang!

Things I Saw Today

New York Bagels

We have bagels in New York. The best bagels. Not only that, but they're big. Really big. Ginormous bagels, like this one.

By the way, I bought a hat today. What do you think?

Simple Snake

Doing an outfit-post involves a lot of work for me. Without disclosing TG details, the process requires more effort than you guys have to invest. Lately work's drained my energy so I haven't had a chance to do one of these posts, which was making me blue. Today I knocked off work early to remedy that.

There's a piece I've been wanting to wear -- a blue, faux-snakeskin skirt I bought while thrifting last month with Patti. It's a fun pattern and I show a detail of it in the second photo.

After putting my stuff away, I looked at the pictures and realize the outfit has problems. It's shapeless and the top clashes a little with the skirt. But -- and this is a big but -- I had fun. I enjoyed myself. Indulging in playful activity puts a smile on my face. So the less-than-attractive outcome is okay. I'm not trying to impress anyone, just be happy. That's okay, isn't it?