Oh my goodness, so emotional after watching My Transgender Kid on channel 4 yesterday. It’s so strange that your emotions and feelings can be hidden so deeply and the smallest thing can bring them bubbling to the surface!
What a wonderful program, very brave family’s talking honestly about their lives – laying their worries and fears, hopes and dreams out for the world to see. It’s refreshing to see family’s standing up and saying “this is us” rather than hiding away and seeking anonymity. George is so lucky to have Nick in his life, that man could potentially change his life – it was amazing to watch and obviously meant so much to Nick that he was able to give another person the love and support which he never had. Everyone needs to find their Nick, someone to guide and support them in their journey!
Both family’s have wonderful, brave, beautiful children and I personally am so very proud to have one of the 1 in 1,000 children in England who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.
I am however left wondering why the program has left me feeling so emotionally drained? Is it the fear of the future, the relief that I am not alone or sadness and grief for the little girl I once had . . . . is it purely the massive weight of being a parent of a child with gender dysphoria. I don’t know, but it has definitely made me feel a mixture of both happy and sad which is strange.
Recently I have noticed more pangs of ‘missing’ Summer than usual, I put it down to the fact my second child Lena is now the age that Summer became Ben. It is VERY strange when I get old clothes out of the attic, dresses and tights (my favorite combo) which now fit Lean and I can still see Summer wearing them – that has definitely been hard. But at the same time it has reminded me of how much strength it must have taken Ben to ‘come out’ aged 2.5 and how unusual it is for a child to be so sure of themselves that young.
It is however amazing how many stories and journeys are being shared in the media recently, I know that for me as a parent one of my biggest fears is how difficult the future could be for Ben but the media coverage does give me hope that by the time my baby is in high school our kids wont give two hoots about gender and actually my fears will be unfounded – hears hoping!
A memory from the days of Summer to share with you:
SUMMERBENANDME 