We got the first reaction to my letter today and I started crying. Not tears of sadness but tears of relief. My wife's middle brother and his wife sent an e-mail to Dee with this:
Subject: The Courage to be...
Please know that, for us, God, love and family are above all else. We will learn. We will understand. And we will plea for patience as our long-embedded expressions of familiarity are replaced with those that are new and so important.
We pray for the blessing of PEACE for Beverly, and for you and your family.
I'm crying again just writing this.
that is so wonderful BeverlyAnn.
almost feel like crying with you .
acceptance is beautiful
Quote from: BeverlyAnn on April 16, 2016, 03:42:14 PM
We got the first reaction to my letter today and I started crying. Not tears of sadness but tears of relief. My wife's middle brother and his wife sent an e-mail to Dee with this:
Subject: The Courage to be...
Please know that, for us, God, love and family are above all else. We will learn. We will understand. And we will plea for patience as our long-embedded expressions of familiarity are replaced with those that are new and so important.
We pray for the blessing of PEACE for Beverly, and for you and your family.
I'm crying again just writing this.
That is beautiful...no platitudes...a good honest loving response. Lovely
Well the second response, from my sister-in-law, was not quite as positive but wasn't negative. I really thought she would be much more accepting since she has a grandchild who is FtM. She seemed confused more than anything else.
Quote from: BeverlyAnn on April 16, 2016, 03:42:14 PM
We got the first reaction to my letter today and I started crying. Not tears of sadness but tears of relief. My wife's middle brother and his wife sent an e-mail to Dee with this:
Subject: The Courage to be...
Please know that, for us, God, love and family are above all else. We will learn. We will understand. And we will plea for patience as our long-embedded expressions of familiarity are replaced with those that are new and so important.
We pray for the blessing of PEACE for Beverly, and for you and your family.
I'm crying again just writing this.
Wow, you couldn't really wish for a better response than that. I can well understand your tears. :)
I read your reaction letter twice, the second time realizing that they used your female name. That is so cool! Congratulations!
Moni
Quote from: HappyMoni on April 16, 2016, 11:30:10 PM
I read your reaction letter twice, the second time realizing that they used your female name. That is so cool! Congratulations!
Monia
I didn't notice until I looked at it a fourth or fifth time but above the body of the e-mail in the address it says
To:Dee and Beverly
Oh Beverly! That's so wonderful!
Best reaction yet. First some things about my cousin. He and I are less than three months difference in age. When we were little, he had a bad habit of biting. He bit me once and both our parents made me bite him back on his arm. He quit biting. We have always been very close, spending summers and holidays together as children and he was always the daredevil. He's a country boy, has a farm and raises cattle along with working. He is also a shameless flirt with women.
I was going to go down to the farm and talk to him but he had to work for someone else today so we met for lunch. I had a couple of things to give him so after lunch we walked out to his truck. I gave him the things and then handed him the letter to read. About halfway through the first page he looked at me and said, "You know, this explains a lot from when we were kids." He kept reading and about halfway through the second page he said, "Why didn't you do this years ago?" When he finished, he hugged me and said, "You've always been a part of my life and you always will be." We talked for a while longer and I mentioned now he knew when he was climbing the trees why I was on the ground. We got to laughing and I told him I needed him to promise me one thing. "A year from now, don't flirt. I couldn't stand that!" and started laughing. He looked startled, then laughed held his arm out and said, "If I pinch your butt, you have my permission to bite!"
Well, it has gotten even better with one exception. Although my brother's reaction was lukewarm, my niece immediately started calling me Aunt Bev when she added me on Facebook. Another niece is calling me the same thing. My sister-in-law was lukewarm the first day but the next day, she had added me on FB also and was chatting normally. Having a trans grandson may be why she came around in one day. Another of my wife's brothers added me on FB and the third brother sent me a lovely written letter addressed to Ms. Bev B.
The exception however has been my son. Still absolutely nothing from him so just to make sure, my wife asked him online today if he got the letter.
Quote from: BeverlyAnn on April 22, 2016, 06:43:16 PM
Well, it has gotten even better with one exception. Although my brother's reaction was lukewarm, my niece immediately started calling me Aunt Bev when she added me on Facebook. Another niece is calling me the same thing. My sister-in-law was lukewarm the first day but the next day, she had added me on FB also and was chatting normally. Having a trans grandson may be why she came around in one day. Another of my wife's brothers added me on FB and the third brother sent me a lovely written letter addressed to Ms. Bev B.
The exception however has been my son. Still absolutely nothing from him so just to make sure, my wife asked him online today if he got the letter.
Beverly Ann that is great news and I am so glad to hear that the response has been positive. I know how difficult it can be with kids. I was lucky and mine came round really quickly although I am sure they have ongoing doubts and concerns. I know they both periodically get upset but that is more about seeing me so unhappy.Might just take a bit more time for him to process it. I do hope it works out for you.
Liz K