saw my family this weekend
havenât seen them in over five years, most of them not in seven years
apparently, my parents refused to even acknowledge me, not even super basic facts like that i graduated, went to grad school, etc..., much less mention the fact that iâm trans and have a girlfriend...
and as you probably know or have guessed by now, my parents have not been super great to me since i came out - didnât want to see me for several years, still not allowed to see my younger siblings, obviously still misgender and deadname me whenever i interact with them (though that has thankfully moved towards avoiding any third-person references to me at all)
so anyway, my uncle (my dadâs brother) randomly added me on facebook at the beginning of the year, and sent me a nice message, using my correct name and saying that he missed me and wanted to see me â so we scheduled a visit
i was anxious (but iâm anxious about seeing my friends, so w/e) but once i was with him he made it very clear that he loved and accepted me for who i am, and was just really happy to have me in his life again. he told me that he had tried asking my parents about me multiple times, but that they always changed the subject, and wouldnât tell him anything about me. so this year, he asked my brother (who is now independent of my parents, and also cool), âhey what happened to your brother?â and my brother was like, âwell... my brother is actually my sister now...â and told him what was up (i didnât realize my brother was actually calling me his sister now, which was also nice to hear!)Â
he also got to meet lexi, who he apparently hadnât heard anything about either (not that surprising, but my parents are always going on and on about how she is totally part of the family and that they love her, so like, yeah...)
afterward, he told me he wanted to organize a party so that the rest of my family could see me again! he asked me about who i was ok with inviting (everyone he wanted to invite, and not my parents or grandparents - which he also agreed with) i was really nervous about the party, with at least 30 extended-family members who were going to be there, but also i was really excited to see them all again
that party was this last weekend, and it was really good! _everyone_ was so good at âtrans 101âł stuff that it was shockingly impressive! no one ever used my old name, hardly ever misgendered me, and when they did they would just use the right one next time or quickly correct it - none of that awkward self-deprecating stuff â and this was despite half of them being totally smashed lol
apparently, one of my cousins lives with her girlfriend near me, and they have a daughter together! man, i had no idea! it made me feel really good to see that, and how they were obviously just as much a part of the family as everyone else
it was really awesome, and it made me feel really good! iâve felt so lost and lonely these past five years, and have had to deal with lots of hard things by myself, without being able to rely on my parents the way most people my age are. iâm really glad to know that i have all of them now, and that i wonât have to be alone anymore