Now that J has come out to me and to his dad, he's ready to be out to the whole world. He has now told a few trusted friends and, in turn, I have spoken with their parents who are also my friends so that they can help their kids process. I worry that maybe it's going a little fast, that maybe it will begin to spiral beyond what he's ready for. But, this is what he wants - to stop hiding - and I can't blame him. I reached out to our amazing pediatrician for his guidance in learning about hormone blockers and, without hesitation, he made a referral to the pediatric endocrinologist. I trust our pediatrician implicitly so I know he will have chosen a good endo, but still, it makes me a little nervous to be going to a doctor we don't know in such a conservative state. Hopefully the appointment will come through quickly and everything will go smoothly.
J is going to his first LGBTQ support group for teens tonight. He has a long-time friend who is bisexual and they are going to go together so they're not "the new kid in the room" solo. He's excited and nervous but I'm so hopeful that this will open him to a great group of friends who understand exactly what he's going through.
I think I've got my head around this, for the most part. I'm now thinking about the knock on effects with our other children, parents, etc more than J's transition. Somehow the fact that J is trans seems natural to me now and I hope the rest of the family can come to this place, too. I want to protect J from close-mindedness in the community (not our families, I might add, even though they may have a hard time with it), I want to prepare him for how nasty it might be. But, you know, the other day he told me he knows he may be teased and bullied and his response to that would be to say, "I am who I am" and flash the bird. I love this kid.