The New Puppy

"We don't need another dog," Angela said.

"Of course we do, we used to have three, and now we only have two," I said.

I wait. I wait another week. And then, my Angela came through. She said, "there are Bichons in the paper."

"Really?" I said. "Let me see that."

"That's a local call, you know," she remarked.

"Umhuh," I remarked.

"You could go this afternoon," she pointed out, "after your PT appointment.
"Yes, I could. I guess I should call," I pointed out.

"Umhuh."

She knew that if I went to look, we'd have a puppy, and so we did. I picked TinkerBelle out at three weeks old, and I checked up on her every week. I even took the grandkids with me twice, so they could see the puppy grow.

Tink was the first of the litter to venture out of her box, and she let me turn her over for a tummy rub from the first time we met. Eight-weeks went by so slowly, I could hardly keep myself away, and Angela loved the phone pictures.

I brought her in the house and she was first overwhelmed by Cassandra, the one year old puppy, and then our new baby dog made a pass through Angela's arms for a big snuggle. Next, the kids got to hold her, and  finally, her feet touched the floor and she was able to explore a bit. Angela beamed as much as I, and the grandkids agreed she was "a cupcake," as the eldest remarked. "That's because her collar has cupcakes on it, and that's how sweet she is." There goes that adult-concept-thing again in our five-year old granddaughter.

"I'll add the third lead to the leash," Angela said.


"That would be great." I said.


Here's just another Best Thing About Being Married To A Transsexual.

Her's two of our doggies taking a snooze: Chloe Petunia, the one year old, and TinkerBelle, the baby.

They are Bichon Frise with puppy (hair) cuts.

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The Big Birthday Bash

I just love watching Angela work. She is a whirling dervish. No kidding. She never stops. She seems to be in several places at once. I look one way, and there she is setting up tables, I look the other and she's hanging a banner or a balloon. When the blow-up pools, yes plural, are filled, the playhouse open, and the  swing set dusted off again, it's time for the kids to arrive. There are nearly as many parents as there are kids, but that makes it all the more fun for the grown-up and the kids. We get to catch-up, while the little ones are allowed a little more freedom. Mommies and Daddies are close-by for small boo-boos, and call-out like "you are too little to do that," or "watch out for the littler ones." Our grand-kids are turning 3 and 5, and their vocabularies are turning 22 and 24: The now 5-year-old tells me, "the surface is slippery," when she comes out of the pool and steps on the cement porch. The now 3-year-old wants to know, "why can't the world stop turning so the breeze doesn't blow so hard?" When words and concepts like "empathy, levering myself up, and grip-strength" become common-place, Angela and I wonder what their teachers are going to do with them when they start first grade, not to mention kindergarten.

Angela watches the kids in the pool while others sit and talk, she helps hold the kids up to the monkey-bars, even the toddlers. She catches the older ones who's "grip-strength" doesn't last long enough for the 5 handholds. She pushes swings while Mommies fix hamburgers. She finds more paper for coloring while Daddies hand out hot dogs. She monitors games of chase so the little ones can catch the big ones, and she hands out spoons for the sandbox when the other toys run out. She even settles a few kid-sized arguments before they turn into traumas Moms and Dads need to deal with. When she finally sits down to eat, it's time to open presents. She happily takes her lunch to the new location to watch. Yes, I was there, talking, eating, sorting out kids, but mostly I was getting towels, band-aides, and food from the house. Other times I was being the potty-monitor so little behinds got wiped and small, wet feet didn't slip on the entry tile.

Yes, Angela is my overseer of all good things, and that's just another Best Thing About Being Married To A Transsexual.

Taking up the slack

I’ve learned more than I care to say about cancer, but the most surprising thing is that it completely takes over your life. Every weekday has at least one appointment for something –doctors, labs, scans, physical therapy and etc. Each week is regulated by where you are in the chemo cycle. Week one, you can do pretty much as you please. Week two: stay away from anyone with a cold because white cells are diminishing by the minute. Week three: by midweek, one regains their freedom as white cells regenerate. Of course, then it is time to do chemo again, and the cycle repeats. This weekend is officially “stay indoors, don’t go anywhere” per my doctor. So, I’m missing a mall play-date with the grandkids, a day of babysitting, an opening of a friend’s art gallery, a play we planned to see, and a Christmas shopping trip scheduled for tomorrow. Dast, oh dear! Dang! So, guess who is taking up the slack – all by herself – Angela of course! We usually do “kid things” together. Sometimes we both are “on duty,” and sometimes one of us leaves to work on a project, go shopping or meet friends for lunch. We relieve each other for breaks, but one of us is always with the kids. Today, it will be an all day affair for her, although our daughter will be there for the play-date and from time to time throughout the day. Angela is an excellent babysitter; she plays with Brooke like a big sister, and she is a champion at changing diapers and walking babies (yes, she was excellent at both as a father too). So, here’s another Best Thing About Being Married to a Transsexual: a few hormones add a touch of tenderness and patience that all of us enjoy!

Breakfast at 6:30

One of the blessings Angela offers is doing breakfast each morning when Brooke is staying overnight. I'm not a morning person AT ALL! So, she gets up with our granddaughter and fixes her a nice breakfast. Of course, Angela is a morning person, but not always quite as early a morning person as Brooke is. They have a wonderful time just the two of them, while I continue my snoozes. Of course, I get up in the middle of the night, so it evens out, I suppose. However, doing early morning breakfasts is one of the Best Things About Being Married to a T for me.

Baby Bree Has Arrived

May 29 a brand new person suddenly was, who never was before! (That's a line from the musical "I DO! I DO" based on the play The Four Poster). Her name is Bree Caitlan, and, of course, she's adorable! She was born cesarean, and she wasn’t breathing, which gave us quite a scare. “This is normal,” said the docs, as everyone else worried while they worked over her little body. There was a lusty cry after a few minutes, and we all smiled. She continued to howl for a good fifteen minutes while she was poked and prodded, measured, weighed, and put through all the required tests.

She came home on the first of June, and settled right into the routine of home life. She slept through dinner, so we all had a nice repast. Then she awoke and demanded her fair share. She’s an excellent breast feeder, unlike her sister, who had a difficult first week learning how that worked. Brooke was a month premature, so that was the primary reason for that problem.

Brooke has taken to her little sister completely. She’s offering to share her blanket, which is a real coup for Bree, since Brooke will hardly let her “blankie” out of sight!

Welcome, little Bree!

Things couldn't get any stranger

It all started around 9 p.m.:
I was getting the baby ready for bed.
Our daughter, who’s been confined to bed rest through the last couple months of her pregnancy, was having contractions again.
Angela was going to bed to read. She was also having some having some indigestion/angina discomfort, and so she was monitoring her blood pressure. It was a little high.
10 p.m. rolled around and -
the baby began what was to become an intestinal episode.
Angela’s blood pressure was suddenly quite high(!)
Aud’s contractions got closer together.
11 p.m. and all H--- broke loose:
We headed for the emergency room, and checked in at Children’s Hospital
I warned the nurse practitioner that we had “a couple other problems going on.”
She said, “We have a full service emergency room, but we’ll probably transfer both of them to their regular hospital - if there’s time.”
I was seeing myself having to leave the baby at the hospital so I could take both Angela and Audra to another hospital – Aud to have the baby and Angela with another heart episode.
Because the baby was in distress, we were quickly upgraded and taken in to see the doctor.
Aud’s contractions were now 2 minutes apart, but when she lays down with the baby, the contractions lessoned.
Thankfully, Angela's blood pressure began to settle down.
Midnight
The granddaughter was diagnosed with an intestinal blockage after being seen by the doctor and having X-rays.
1 a.m.
The baby gets meds and soon appears to be on the road to recovery; Aud's contractions continued to lessen; and Angela was finally okay.
2 a.m. The blockage was taken care of, and all was well.
3 a.m. We checked out of the emergency room and returned home
4 a.m. Everyone went to bed.
6:30 a.m. Our alarms went off – It was time to get ready to take Audra to her 8 a.m. OB appointment.
Angela handled breakfast, and off they went while Brooke and I slept in until 8 a.m.
It’s great to have a T for a spouse! (Yes, Angela has an appointment to see her heart specialist next week!)

Busy waiting - how about you.

No, I haven't been sitting on my backside, but I have been waiting around. Our daughter is 34 weeks into a problematic pregnancy and has been restricted to bed rest. Angela and I have been babysitting our granddaughter, sometimes at our home, and some times at our daughter and son-in-law’s. It’s amazing how busy a 22 month old can be. It’s also amazing how busy she's kept us. Our daughter and granddaughter have come over each Monday evening and returned home on Friday morning when Daniel's parents take over for the day. How do we work out our schedules? We compliment each other by using our strengths - Angela’s a morning person, and I’m a night owl. I do the middle of the night (2 and 4 a.m.) wake ups that usually amount to a few pats on the back, a couple ounces of milk and an occasional diaper change. Angela takes over the early morning wake up call (5:30 or 6 a.m., which is a bit early for her, but she manages just fine). She changes Brooke and gives her breakfast. That allows our daughter and me to sleep in. We both fetch and carry for our daughter and have a ball playing with Brooke. So yep, here’s another Best Thing About Being Married to a T. On our "off days" we mow the lawn, clean the house, take care of bills and otherwise sleep in. Meanwhile, we wait and stay VERY Busy! - All Day. There'll be a new baby "soon." We just don't know "how soon."

Laughing together

It was one of those days when both of us had long job jar lists, were tired from a prior day of tree cutting, and our minds were fretting about our granddaughter's continuing bout with a stomach flu. We carefully managed each job and were actually feeling pretty good about whittling down our lists.

About mid-afternoon, we both seemed to run out of brainpower, I guess. I was mowing the back yard when Angela stepped outside onto the patio and motioned for me to ‘pull over and turn off the mower’. I did. She walked over with a big grin on her face. “You’d probably have more success,” she said, “if you put the blade down.” I looked at the yard and realized I hadn’t taken off more than a half inch of grass. I looked at Angela’s broad smile, put the blade down and broke out in guffaws. She joined me. She soon returned inside and I started the mower.

I put away the lawn tractor and headed into the house. The sweeper was going, so I walked in to report that her suggestion had resulted in a nicely cut lawn. I reached the hall and stopped dead in my tracks. Angela was sweeping the laundry room with the wand. The body of our upright Kirby stood at the doorway facing into the room. Dust and small debris the dogs had brought in was puffing out from the zipper area. A small, but growing, pile was forming in the hallway. A grin spread across my face as I stepped into the laundry room and tapped her on the shoulder. I waited for her to turn off the sweeper and then said, “I think you forgot to put the bag in the sweeper.” I pointed into the hall. She looked at the little pyramid of dust in the hallway and broke into a giggling fit. Ten minutes later, she was sucking up the mess with the shop-vac and heading to the Kirby store for replacement bags.

I love these times when we’ve caught each other in little boo-boos and can laugh together at our foibles. Ah yes, it's another Best Thing About Being Married to a T!

If You're Happy And You Know It

I have to admit that I've noticed this year passing more than most because I've seen how our granddaughter has grown and changed over the year. (Watch any child and you'll see time passing before your eyes.) She's the delight of my heart, of course.

I don't mind the year passing, perhaps because it's been filled with good memory-making days. Brooke, of course, is first on that list, as are all the silly and fun things Angela and I have managed to get ourselves into. I've never mourned a year. I don't want to go back to any of them, even those I consider "the best." I'm one of those "onward looking" folks who drive others crazy. I like looking back at memories; I have lots of scrapbooks I look through from time to time even. But, they aren't any of the things that keep me going. I'm curious about What Happens Next. I want to know about the next great discovery in science and medicine. I want to see what new things Brooke discovers. We're are expecting a new granddaughter come summer, and I know I'll enjoy great times with her too.

I can't say getting older is any picnic, but it does have it's good things. There is more time to myself, time to try new things and do all those things I wanted to do, or should've done, through the years. I have time to spend with Brooke; I have time to go RVing; I have time to work on a memoir about Angela's transition and a fictional story too. I can sit and read a book, or take a nap, or write to a friend (yes, I still write actual letters as well as email). Most of all though, I can enjoy time with Angela. Although we've been married 42 years, I've wanted to know this new person Angela more and more. She's almost 9 if you count from her SRS (sex reassignment surgery), and you know how 9-year-olds are - a little silly, a little snugly, a little of all sorts of this and that. Well, that's Angela all over. She's into everything, way more than me, so I learn lots of stuff from her. I think I read a lot, but she puts me to shame. I read about a book a week; She's finished three. I read one magazine a week, and she reads three. She knows the news before it's news half the time. Isn't that great? Between Angela and Brooke, I don't have a chance to feel older.

Okay, there are a few more aches and pains around than when I was 20, but So What! I'm healthy, and most important, I'm happy. I love Angela, Audra, Brooke, my puppies, and all the rest of my family. I love to see what Angela and Brooke are going to come up with each day, individually and together. I love seeing Audra grow as a woman and mother, and I enjoy seeing her marriage grow. I love watching my puppies play, although I still miss Kathryn the Great more than I can say (she died in November), I love Snowball's Chance and Cassandra. I just plain love each day. I hope you do too. Happy New Year!

My transsexual nurse

It was my turn, I guess. I've always played Nurse Nellie when David/Angela managed to have any of his or her variety of accidents. They ranged from falling off a ladder - once as David and once as Angela; two heart episodes, again one as each; many bangs, bruises, cuts and gashes. I've been the one with the hydrogene peroxide, gauze, ace bandages, neosporine et al. I've also been the one who insisted, "We're going to the hospital on this one."

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and there was no rain in the forecast for at least two days. It seemed the right day to spray the "No-Vegetation-Forever" weed killer. Our RV parking area was overgrown, and the sprouting vegetation in our driveway was forcing cracks open in the asphalt. So, I got busy. What I didn't do was pay attention to where my head was. Yep, I gave it a solid clunk on the corner of one of the RV room extentions. I assured myself of no serious injuries, and then I made several rude remarks to the offending corner and about my own inattention. I was soon back to work, however, although well away from the RV. Ten minutes passed, and then I noticed something dropping from my nose and then off my chin. I blinked away a bit of dampness on an eyelid, and puzzled, I reached up to see what the heck was going on. My forehead was covered in blood, and it was rapidly dripping down my face. I headed for the woodworking shop where Angela was putting together her latest project for baby Brooke - a desk/toy box arrangement. She took one look at me, grabbed my arm and headed me toward the sink. Due to previous accidents of her own, all the necessities were readily available. After a thorough washing out, hydro-peroxide and etc, she applied pressure to the top of my head and marched me into the house for further aid.

I'm happy to report that, outside of a gash about 3/4" long on the top of my head, I'll survive. She wouldn't even let me go back outside. She picked up all my stuff, and then returned to make me a cup of tea and hand me my book. "You're in for the rest of the day," she said. See how lucky I am to have my own T nurse around. She continued to check up on me through the afternoon, touching up any oozing, administering gauze and refilling my tea. What more could a wounded, inattentive person ask for? Yep, this is another Best Thing About Being Married To A Transsexual.

A Grandkid and a T

What a combo those two are! They are always up to something, and there is no telling what it might be. They are both inventive, and most of the time, they are inventing ways to get in my hair. By the time I have one area tidied up, another has been turned into a disaster area. I will say this much, though, when it's all over, Angela is as often as not, the final official tidier-up of the area. I guess I fell like I've been running interference all day, so she gets the final put everything in its place detail. They are particularly good at blocks. I find little stacks of them everywhere. Books too, seem to be in piles here and there. I am noticing that te baby is playing by herself more and more. Angela is always hovering nearby if I'm not in the room. That's a good thing. Now that we have the tree up, it's best to not let her out of sight, even for a minute. We've told her it's like the TV - look but don't touch - but, we know how much temptation is in view. So far, and it's been three days, there has only been one ball removed, and that was because she bumped it. No, there are no icicles this year. Safety first. Anyway, if you have a grandchild, a T is the perfect sitter. You see, she gets to experiece all that girlie growing up through the eyes of the child. It's a joy to watch them both go through all the discoveries as they happen. As it happened, Angela, as David, was off fight a war, so she, as he, also missed much of the growing up of our daughter. Now, she can experience it for the first time. What a treat for me.!

Don't forget

Don't forget all the ones you love, even when you are concerned and concentrating on one with a problem. Perhaps I should say especially when you are concentrating on one with a problem. I've been worried about a close relative, and our granddaughter's croup caught up with me! I was concentrating on the one with the problem and missed the bad cold. Yes, I mentioned that she had a stuffy nose, but just a couple of days later, she was in the hospital. Not long after that, I had my mind on my newly diagnosed with diabetes dog, and I failed to notice a growing problem in another dog. Now, surgery is scheduled for her. Similar things happen with friends, so, the lesson here is don't be so wrapped up in one that you fail to keep an eye on others just as close. It doesn't matter if its family, friends, or pets. I've learned my lesson, so I thought I'd pass it on to my readers.

Now, all that being said, given all of the above, Angela has been a huge help with support on all fronts. There have been lots of extra phone calls to the family member, and then trips to the hospital and extra phone calls for the granddaughter. Angela has been a huge help with giving shots as I learned my way through that. It's a two person deal. I do the "pokes," but Angela handles the analysis and all the other "stuff." She was right there with me when we took Kathryn, the "other" dog into the vet, and she helped with the exam and X-rays. She'll be there for the after care too. I know I couldn't have always said that before she was a T! She's as involved with babysitting the granddaughter as I am. Before, the dogs were strictly mine. Now, she's as attached to them as I am. So, I am again, so very glad to have my Transsexual spouse!

Please vote NO on Prop 8 if you live in California!

Things that I love

This is could be a long list, but I'll keep it reasonable.:
1. Angela, especially since she transitioned
2. Our daughter, what a delight she has always been; yes, even as a teen
3. Our granddaughter, what joy she has brought to our lives as we rediscover the world through her little eyes
4. Our extended family, what a blessing they are for who they are, and for their unquestioning support of unusual life - We are blessed
5. Friends that are true in every way; what an honor to know them all
6. All dogs - our own especially. They bring us comfort and love 24/7/365
7. Trees dancing in the breeze
8. Making new friends
9. Weather - good and bad, it's amazing, isn't it?
10. Good food, particularly those meals that are shared with those we love.
11. Laughing - out loud more than that hidden chuckle. It's always best when shared.
12. Seeing growth - the kind when one's ideas are stretched to include things never thought of before
13. Trying new things - especially things that are challenging to us
14. Seeing new sights
15. Seeing success happen to our family, friends, acquaintances, and ourselves
16. Hearing music in all its many forms
17. Listening to a contented sigh of happiness.
18. Seeing love reflected back from another's eyes
19. Watching my garden grow
20. Watching life happen all around us

First Steps! A Red Letter Day

We've passed a milestone - Brooke, our granddaughter, is walking! She turned 10 months old on the 17th. Her mother also walked at 10 months, so, true confession time, we figured she'd be an early walker too. Oh yes, she almost skipped crawling because she preferred to be up on those little feet. Of course, crawling did happen, and it is her primary source of moving at present - and always at top speed. She began letting go and standing alone for a few second a little over a month ago, but she wasn't ready to take the first step unassisted. Last night she began with 2 steps, then 3, and then 5. Now we're trying to get all that motion on video, and naturally, she takes off before we can get the camera going. We'll keep at it. Wouldn't you?

Sleeping Ts, grandchildren, and dogs

You know what they say about sleeping dogs? Well, it applies to Ts (transsexuals) and grandchildren as well. When they are asleep, especially when they are asleep in a pile (which is what you have when you have three dogs piled up against anyone or anything!). One should automatically hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the whole kit and caboodle! Why? Because all of them are currently quiet! There are no barking doggies, no babbling kiddos (or whining, or crying either), and no questions from our adorable T. In fact, I'm not sure who is the most adorable when it comes to such a grouping. There is no question that the puppies get themselves into what would appear to be most uncomfortable positions, which just makes them look cute. The baby is just plain darling snuggled against her snoozing Grammy. And as for the Grammy - well - there is nothing more content than a grandmother with a granddaughter asleep on her chest. They are quite a cute, adorable, darling little pile. GET THE CAMERA! No - wait. The flash will wake up at least half of them - damn! No, I am NOT going to stand by, at-the-ready, for half an hour. In fact, I think I'll just snuggle up to the whole bunch and take a nap myself. Didn't I tell you were lots of "Bests" when you have a T around? Well, here's another.

Time

There just isn't enough of it, have you noticed? I mean, how did it get to be 12:04 a.m. when I sat down at this computer at 10:30 "for just a few minutes?" Of course I didn't intend for another day to dawn before I got to my blog, but it has. So much for good intentions, huh? You see, when I retired, getting a blog going was on my To Do list, near the top even. I did get it up and running within a couple of months of retiring, but then life started interrupting: there was the new grandchild, the new RV, planning and planting another qtr. acre of the Japanese Garden, and that nagging thing called the Home Inventory I promised I would finish within the first year. I'm 3/4 through with the Home Inventory, the Japanese Garden is planned out and about 1/2 is planted, we are certainly RVing all over the place, and we are delighting in the new baby, now 9 months old! Time flies. I'm happy the blog is going well, but I'm displeased that time slips away, and I miss my promised "not-less-than-every-other-day" deal with myself (except when we are away, out of touch, of course). Not all RV parks have the Internet, and I don't want to download half my C drive, email, and other projects onto the laptop that is filled with travel stuff. So, Time just gets in the way of getting everything accomplished. Granddaughter watching has to take priority as she grows to where she can better entertain herself for longer periods of time without taking off at a fast clip into a danger zone. RVing has to have a priority as once one has paid for such an item, one must use it. Now that it's spring - gardening has to be at the top of the list. It's amazing that outdoor physical labor, even loved outdoor physical labor - like finishing up an acre one has been working on for 3 years, is capable of completely wearing a person (me) out. So, again, time gets away. When I sit down at the computer, there's email, snail mail to write and ready to send, there's all variety of bills and whatnot to tend to, and friends and committments and - well, you see where the time goes. Pretty soon, it's 12:04 and another day has passed between blogs. I apologize to my readers, and to myself, because I have let me down too, you see. But - it's all Time's fault. It seems to slip through my fingers more often these days. I'll continue to try to do better. I promise. Meanwhile, I can always lean on Angela. She's the best support a person could have - and what a delight that is!

HAIR - Another Best Thing About Married to a Transsexual

Hair is a tricky thing, isn't it? I've always had bad hair, so it's a good thing I don't have to look at it. I generally swear at it for about 20 minutes each morning and then give up and get on with my life. I figure if someone cringes when I come in, I failed worse than usual. Okay, it isn't quite that bad, but it IS fine, flyaway, thin, and otherwise not exactly the cream-of-the-crop hair. Angela, on the other hand, has great hair - and it's all hers; she paid for it, so it's hers. It always looks nice, even when she's trimming trees, changing oil, working in the woodworking shop on the grandkid's rocking horses (3 - one for here, one for home, and one for sale). It looks good when she gets out of bed, when she is caught in the wind, and when she's all dressed up. She can change the look, the length and the color at a whim. In fact, and here's that Best Thing I mentioned - I got a great laugh this morning, all because of Angela's hair. Our granddaughter didn't recognize her! What was different? Her hair! It was a different wig than she'd ever worn before. As soon as she switched to a longer style, there was no longer a problem. Now, who would have thought that would have happened? I always recognized her, and goodness knows we went through some WIGS - colors, lengths and styles too. When she first started her Real Life Test, the hair was very long and "sexy." Over time, it shortened and became less "I'm ready for my close-up," in style. She can still wow a crowd, trust me on that, but her hair is much more normal. Beautiful, but normal. Okay, I hate it; it's not fair; but it's the way it is. I love her anyway! What am I gonna do? Oh, yeah, I've thought about switching to a wig myself. I even have a couple in their boxes, on the shelf, seldom seen or used, but available. I'm comfortable knowing they are there just in case I'm ever really desperate. It may come to that, I realize, but, for now, I'll just put up with my own problem hair.

Best Things About Being Married To A Transsexual or Red Letter Day x Three

Today is a Red Letter Day.
Three special things happened:
First, we were in the San Francisco Paper in the magazine's On The Couch Feature. I haven't set up links yet, but I will. Meanwhile, go to:
www.sfgate.com
search for Pettit

Next, our granddaughter, Brooke, ate her first solid meal toady. It was only a tablespoon of rice cereal, but that's pretty special in our book. Angela was right there with me, taping the event. I don't know who was the proudest, Brooke's parents or us.

Last, Angela spent the better part of this evening helping to decorate our daughter and son-in-law's tree. Now, that may not seem like much at first glance, but when Angela was David, you could hardly get him in the same room with a tree, much less get him to help decorate one. Angela, on the other hand, already helped deck our home and tree, and now she's pitching in at the daughter's place too. Who'd have thought it? Not me, that's for sure. Not only that, but she spent yesterday's shopping from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. with us - daughter, granddaughter, and me. That was an added bonus.

Most important: None of the above would have been so happily shared without the transition. So, which was the best thing about today? Having Angela at my side, for all three Best Things About Being Married to a Transsexual!