Sunday, January 31, 2010

Little Things

There's an old saying about how "its the little things that count." I'm finding that true in my life with my T. Angela, as David, was always the gentleman; he opened doors, carried the heavy stuff, and did all the guy things. He also helped out in the kitchen and with raising our daughter. Now, I find that all those things continue, only now there is more granddaughter things on her list than helping the daughter things. The little things I'm talking about though, are just about the two of us: She is the one who fills the humidifier every-other-night. She's the one who says, kindly, "don't you think you should wear your compression arm," when I'm doing something unusual (it's for Lymphadema after the cancer surgery). She's the one who always takes the heavy end when we're liftiing something, even though her strength is much less than when she was a man due to the female hormones. She's the one who notices when I'm tired and suggests a break, a rest, or a nap. In short, she is always doing the little things that make my life easier. I appreciate that more than she will ever know. It's great to be married to a Trans!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

RVing with a Trans

Ah yes, there are joys unlimited with a transsexual as your RVing partner!

First off, she's the best driver in the world - thanks to years racing cars on tracks. She can evade a problem in a heartbeat - talk about fast reflexes!

Next she can fix almost anything on the RV, and of course, she can pepper any repair person with question (so she can learn more) whether the repairs are for around for Home, Computer, Shop, Car or RV. She has a two year degree in Automotive Mechanics, plus she was a Novell Computer engineer, and she's into woodworking and tile and hardwood floor laying. She's very versatile.

We've been RVing twice because I had a break in my chemo. Last week, we were in Bakersfield, and she helped drain and flush half a dozen ladies hot water heaters, and ours, of course. Additionally, she helped with two other repairs as the local repairman was swamped with orders and couldn't get to them all! There hasn't been anything on our RV she hasn't been able to fix, and her current project is to make a cabinet where the TV was in the bedroom (we don't often watch TV, and certainly didn't need a second one in the bedroom!). What all RVs can use is more storage that's easy to get to. She's a wonder, there's no doubt.

Then there is that "hormones don't change everything" aspect. When we got home, finished unloaded, cleaning and packing everything back in, she wanted to move the RV to is regular parking spot beside the garage. Of course, we'd had multiple rainy days, and the coach is not-exactly a lightweight. The "roadway," if you can call it that, across our east side "back 40" was soaked. Do you think that was a deterrent to her - nope! When she wants to move it, moving it will happen! So, guess what - it sank to its hubcaps! We had to call a tow truck to get it out. Oh well, I love my trans anyway! Just think of all the harassing I can do now - "I told you so," and "hormones don't change everything, dear!"

Monday, January 11, 2010

Trans trumps all

If one ever wanted one of those obvious "the transition made a difference" moments, we had a couple over the last few days. Pre-transition, the Christmas tree always came down the weekend after New Years, if not before. It was like clockwork. All the extraneous stuff started being put away on those days leading up to the weekend, and then on Friday the icicles and garland were removed. Saturday, all the balls were put away. Sunday was a dawn to dusk lights-off-and tree-packed-away marathon. It didn't happen this year. In fact, this first weekend, we've been away on an RV trip, and the Christmas tree is only missing the icicles and the balls. The lights are still twinkling away. Furthermore, instead of immediately diving into the remove- the-lights-and-pack-away-the-tree mode, which would have been 100% the expected pre-transition activity, Angela is at the daughters painting the dining room! That'll be at least a two-day, and probably three-day project, and then we're off on another RV adventure for the weekend. So, the tree will probably not be packed away until we return. There hasn't been a word said about the still standing and partially decorated tree. Additionally, by now, all of the boxes would have found their way into their appointed spots in the attic. Instead, a pile ov boxes remains stacked in the garage, and I note What a Difference a Transition Makes. Aren't Transsexuals wonderful?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Beautiful daughter

The kids came over for dinner last night, and as the evening progressed, both Angela and I noticed how lovely our grown, married, mother of two daughter is as a woman. Sometimes it is difficult to not always think of her as "the kid." She just turned 39, and still looks to be about 19. There are no noticible wrinkles, and when we took her out for dinner for her birthday, the owner noted that she would have carded her had she not known her actual age. She is not only a great daughter, but she's also an excellent mother, and a good wife. We miss not having her around us all-the-time, but its always nice when they come over for their weekly dinner with us, &/or when we babysit the real kids (ages 2 and 6 months). I called her a few minutes ago just to tell her how beautiful we both thought she looked, and we both got a little teary-eyed.

Angela was a great father while Audra was growing up, and she's an equally great at being a grandmother. She plays with the kids like a woman, where she played like a father/male with Audra. She grew up in a less touchy-feely family than mine, and she has converted completely, especially with the grandchildren. She's more likely to be on the floor with one or both of them than I am even. She has infinite patience, and she takes great joy in everything they do. It's a so much fun to watch her interacting with the little ones. She's also built many of their toys - a rocking horse for Christmas last year, a desk/toy box for her birthday, and a whole swingset complex for Christmas this year. Who knows what she'll come up with next year. See, there's another advantage of having a T for a spouse - she can still do the mostly-male activities like building stuff (yes I hold the board or an end of the measurer, and I great at handing tools to Angela). She's also caring and gentle as a mother/grandmother can be. I am so lucky to have her!