Core Value 4: My family’s well being comes before everything else

This one is self-explanatory for the most part. It’s different for me though than most because of one major thing. . . I’m trans.

Texas Public Radio and Texas Standard did a feature story on me this week, written by Jerry Clayton and they did a phenomenal job.

I was perusing through the comments on social media just for the heck of it and saw comments from people who have no clue like, “I feel sorry for his kids” and the like.

These people seriously have no clue. I wasn’t able to be there for my kids as much as I would like before. Sure, I provided for them but I was so miserable that I couldn’t enjoy the life that I had with them.

Now all that is different. I can actually spend time with my kids and they know the real me. We run around the house and act ridiculous and laugh and have fun these days, instead of me just being annoyed by them and telling them to leave me alone because I’m busy.

For the first time since they were born, I actually have relationships with them. They all know that I’m not just there for them as someone who provides a house for them to grow up in. I’m there for them as a parent.

I went from being the authoritarian house warden to being a resource for them and an ally.

My kids are 10 times happier now than they were just six months ago. The tension that kept us all from having open communication was so great before that it showed from relationships that they had with others to their grades at school.

Here’s another thing that is so great about transitioning. I am teaching my kids to be accepting of people. They won’t be the kids who bully people for being different and that means a lot to me. They will also be the kids who stand up for other kids who are getting bullied because they are different.

They also know that I will always have their back and that my love is unconditional and that no matter who they turn out to be, I will always have their back and will never walk away from them.

As long as I breathe, they will have someone in their corner at all times, not just when it’s convenient for me.

My family’s well-being is better than it ever has been and it started with me accepting who I am. After all, you can’t build a house on a cracked foundation.

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