Sorry about doing a new post with this, but it's taken enough of a turn that I thought that if anyone is facing the same thing, it should be given enough notice that it can provide some encouragement for them

OMG, things went so much better with Mom today! Apparently, the night before she left for the city, she started thinking that if she were experiencing what I was feeling, she wouldn't want to go through it alone, and actually started to read one of the links I'd sent her. By the time she got here and started talking to Dad, she actually decided to *try* to understand -- which is far different from her mindset when we were emailing each other.

It was funny, because we started talking about a lot of things. She was asking if the clinic in Montreal allows visitors to stay with patients during the surgery process, we even shared a laugh when we were talking about heel heights and Dad felt embarassed enough that he had to leave the room. Now, her mind can just as easily change the other way again, but I gave her a copy of Deborah Rudacille's "The Riddle of Gender" to read (which I also reviewed in the books forum). And it looks like she sincerely intends to do so.

What really helped, I think, was when we were talking about some of the biological links being investigated, and I mentioned DES, which is a synthetic estrogen that has been strongly linked to transgender. It was being given out as a "vitamin" to help avoid miscarriage at the time I was born, and as soon as I mentioned it, it was like a light went on. Apparently, she'd even said earlier to Dad that "I bet it has something to do with that," because she'd been given DES, and later learned about some of the other effects it had on children. Once there was a potential reason, I think she became a lot more willing to accept and try to understand it.

My fingers are crossed.

That's great news Mercedes...glad things are going well with your mom...hopefully both your parents will be supportive of you in time. I wonder if my mom was taking DES while she was carrying me...


Hugs & kisses,

Monika

I often wonder if my mom was on DES while carrying me. She's long since passed away, and I don't think there's any way of finding out.

... so perhaps there is a God.
Perhaps you should link this thread to that of Charlene, who in her most recent post says that she 'knows' her traditional family could not accept her.

Mercede, dear--

That's great! Glad to see this post. Blessings to you!

Mina

Hi Mercedes-

That's wonderful news, at least the effort is being made, which in some ways is all you can ask of someone, just to at least try to have an open mind and understand. I wish you-and your mom-the best.

Hugs...Joni