I'm an older person, I'll freely admit that in advance. I'm in group therapy, and in a trans social support group. Honestly, though, I sometimes feel like I'm the sane one in the crowd sometimes, and when I can find conversations, I'd rather then not be about trans issues, or shoe shopping, or which store is offering the next round of free makeovers. (Seriously. I made the mistake of saying I wasn't interested in getting another makeover, and the others were taken aback.)
I'd like to enjoy social contact with other people, as people. Not transpeople, not as the object of discussion about transpeople. I've been craving just ordinary human interaction and conversation.
So, here's what I did. Not suitable for everyone, obviously, but it's working for me. I tried attending a Unitarian Universalist church. See, my atheist father-in-law was on the board of a UU church. He was cantankerous, argumentative, and brilliant, and he apparently fit right in. I really liked him, and missed him when he passed away. I thought that perhaps there were others like him there, and when I found there was a church here in town, I tried it.
Yup, lots of like-minded folks, no catechism to memorize, or 15,000 point ideology to be adhered to or go to hell, just good people concerned about being better people and helping others. OK, I can hang out here and see what happens.
What happens is that after several weeks, I know dozens of people, go out to breakfast with some, get into long-winded discussions with others, and generally have acquired a social life. It looks like a group of us will be doing lunch and a movie next Thursday.
There are officially organized group events, and unofficial ones that just form. There are classes. Improv, anyone? Yoga. Meditation.
Even better, I'm getting back to my old activist roots, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
Loneliness isn't an issue any more.
(Yeah, I know. It's a bunch of old lady stuff. No beer pong. Works for me.)
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