July, my favourite month. I wish you a happy summer.
A mix of things today ...
A year and a half ago I started reflecting on and recording various stages in my early days of going out as Sue. It started with the Angels 10th Birthday Party, followed by other outings such as my first night out on the town, and progressed to a host of other events.
This was all great fun but where was it all leading? I wrote earlier this year about living full-time and said that "there were many periods of several weeks at a stretch when I didn't work and so lived full-time female, to see what it was like, if it was workable, if it suited me, if there were any problems..."
The first such period of several weeks living continuously female was in July 2011, and it was largely as a result of success then that I started this blog. Over the next few posts my regular Dip in the Archives will recall that period. It was great fun but, more importantly, it demonstrated that living in one's true gender was not only possible, even easy, but uplifted the soul more than I can describe.
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| Contemplating |
It took a bit of planning, from booking time off work and hotels to stay in, to making arrangements with friends and making sure that I had everything necessary in the way of clothes, hair, makeup and money... Some time was spent at home, some away, some was in company, some alone... a good mix to test all eventualities thoroughly. It went brilliantly. Watch this space, as they say.
My advice to others considering living full-time or transitioning is to ease into it. Take your trans life in bite-sized chunks, a bit bigger each time, giving you a chance to regroup, to see how far you've come and to consider what may lie on the horizon. I've often seen people opt for D-Day, the day it will all change for ever and Bob will become Brenda for good, no going back. Rome wasn't built in a day and in the same way I'd give yourself a good long run-up to full-time living, with chances to pause and opt out. Life isn't black and white, all or nothing. This worked for me in that it helped me realise that transition wasn't right, not at the time anyway, and living full-time female was wonderful but not vital.
Heaven Come Down
I mentioned a few months back that Chrissie Chevasutt has a book out about her life as a transgender Christian. It was released yesterday and is available via the publisher Darton Longman & Todd or your favourite bookshop.
I have been intrigued by such of Chrissie's story as I have gleaned from her pre-publication material and vlogs, especially as I didn't have a good experience with religion myself. Her YouTube channel is here.
Chrissie's interesting thoughts on the nature of eunuchs in the Bible (e.g. vlogs 7 and 9) is not something I had considered before.
Some of the vile transphobic comments I've seen about this book from Christians suggests to me that Chrissie has a lot of education work to do in her community.
Slimming challenge
Regular readers will know that I've grumbled enough over the years about the difficulties I have had in losing weight. Things have changed, a complete overhaul of my lifestyle, and I am very happy with the real progress I have made this year. I have therefore set myself a mini challenge which is to lose half a stone (7 lb or 3.2 kg) this month.
It's about twice the rate of loss I've been achieving so far, so it's challenging but not suicidal! Given the good exercise I'm getting, such as a daily swim, and the summer heat making me less inclined to eat stodgy food, I hope to achieve it.
Wish me luck.
A dip in the archives
A link to a series of posts in February that forms the background to my decision to take good chunks of time to live solely as a woman. These posts contain further links to other relevant points.
More steps in trans living: conclusion
Cari lettori italiani
Oggi considero l'importanza di pensare bene prima di precipitarsi nella vita femminile con una decisione irrevocabile.
Sue x
To ease into something? I think those are wise words when it comes to being trans. Perhaps as true for folk working to be full time, as those who wish to be part time or 'occasional' 🙂
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the weight loss and also keeping that level too.
Thank you, Lynn. Sue x
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