Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday, I had one of the loveliest and most wonderful celebratory moments of my life. At the crag. A dream of decades come true: I climbed totally bare-chested amidst several other people, without hiding anything. And I didn’t do it discretely: I did it loud and proud — heck, yeah!  After eight weeks of noContinue reading “Striptease of liberation at the crag!”

Two news clips from last night that I found really troubling, upsetting, concerning, and even quite infuriating:  https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163670457/abortion-pill-kacsmaryk-mifepristone-texas https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163733442/wellesley-students-vote-for-the-school-to-accept-trans-and-nonbinary-applicants

It’s amazing how much the ability to be active in my body again has brought me back to life in the past two days.  I had had glimpses of this wonderful feeling again with the visit of one climbing buddy who took us to explore a National Park three weeks after my surgery and thenContinue reading “Back in my body, Back to life”

It’s hard to put into words the joy I am feeling in this moment. I’m almost besides myself with joy.  The boy is running!  I’m a trans athlete!  The boy is running, I’m a trans athlete, and I’m ready to let the body-hair come!  Today I went for my first post-op run: my first runContinue reading “Let the body-hair come!”

There are several verses of the song “I am woman (hear me roar)” that I relate to deeply, and the title/refrain has often resonated with me, albeit it changing it slightly, sometimes.  Sometimes, due to my upbringing & past experiences, I’ve resonated with the original, “I am woman, Hear me roar”.  At other times, I’veContinue reading ““I am me, Hear me roar!””

[Trigger warning: depression] I’m in a very dark spot again.  This is probably another bout of post-op depression and I’m really struggling.  Physically struggling with exhaustion and these stress headaches I tend to get in my left temple with a searing pain (migraines?).  But especially struggling mentally and emotionally, which is also causing most ofContinue reading “Dark spot”

This afternoon, exactly one month after my gender-affirming top-surgery, I went on my first post-op hike: a real, 4.5-mile hike with almost 500 feet elevation gain (after a 2.5-mile walk).  One of my closest climbing buddies took me on the hike — or, rather, he drove us to the trailhead and I took us onContinue reading “Thank you, buddy!”

Today’s exactly one month since getting my gender-affirming top-surgery.  I don’t regret it. I’ve never felt so well and aligned with/in my own body and this is wonderful.  But today I am feeling sad and afraid.  Sad for all that I’ve had to leave behind me and already lost; afraid of what I still mightContinue reading “One month later: sad and afraid”

I used to have a particularly pretty mole on my right breast, visible also in the portraits I got taken of me before my top-surgery.  Until the other day I hadn’t paid attention to this detail. I noticed it again after seeing my pre-surgery nude portraits and my “new” chest as the scars (especially aroundContinue reading “The shifting mole”

This afternoon I showed my “new” chest in person to a friend (a non-medical person) for the first time.  With one of my closest (cis-male) climbing buddies I am working on a project about non-binary/transgender athletes and he came to visit me today to continue some work on this project. We hadn’t seen each otherContinue reading “Taking my shirt off”