Hi, my name is Christina... and I am the mother of four children. I have a twelve year old son, eight year old son, and five year old son. In addition to my testosterone-crazed clan... I have a ten year old daughter. She was born in the same "wrapping" as the rest of my brood, but it didn't take long before she made her way into the world as someone very different.... HERself.
Cammie is a gender variant child. Born Cameron, she transitioned in May of this year at the tender age of ten. This "crusade" has challenged our family in beautiful ways. The dictionary defines a crusade as "A vigorous concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse" which seems to explicitly define our experience and the journey that we have embarked upon. I have been sharing our experience at http://cameronsong.blogspot.com/ .
This blog is going to have a little different focus. In collaboration with one of my closest and dearest friends... we have decided to share the family aspects of gender variance. This blog will be written from a family perspective and address the impact on siblings, parents, and extended family members - as we navigate through the challenges and blessings introduced through day-to-day life.
Recently, I reached a certain "summit" in my journey as a paren-T. The other morning as Cammie was getting ready for school, I was helping her pick out clothes for the day. As I laid her clothes on the bed and walked toward the door... leaving her to dress, I glanced back over my shoulder at her beautiful smiling face. For the first time since embracing her gender identity... I didn't see a transgender child. For the first time, I didn't look at Cammie with fear, anxiety, worry, distress, or concern for the future. For the first time... I looked at my child - and all I saw was my beautiful daughter. Her spirit glowed from the inside out - the way it should with all of us. I was overcome with gratitude... thankful that God has blessed me with an ability to look beyond the "wrapper" to embrace HER spiritual being.
I invite you to join our family along the way... as we learn to live authentically, love unconditionally, grow through humility, and blossom in understanding. Join us as we share the T-rials... and the gifts... of paren-T-hood.
