Q: Can't You See? A: Yes (Finally). (a/k/a Cassidy Has Contacts)

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a good week.

Mine was challenging, for several reasons. But I'm surviving.

Details on that, and some more upbeat news (honest), below the fold.

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The Promised Land

Greetings, all! Hope you're having a lovely weekend. We here in New England seem to have dodged the bullet known as Winter Storm Jonas, which is currently wreaking havoc on the rest of the East Coast. After the nightmarish winter of 2015, of course, we certainly deserve a break!

As promised in my previous missive, I've committed to writing at least one post a week in 2016. Being a good girl [coughcough] ;D, I dutifully drafted a post Saturday afternoon.

This post, however, is not it. :D

You will see it, I promise; you'll just have to wait a few days.

Why, I hear you asking?

Follow along below the fold to find out!

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Hello 2016!

Greetings and salutations, gentle readers! And Happy New Year! I hope this finds you all well. 

I've finally managed to shake off the lingering effects of my annual holiday bout with the flu. This one was particularly tenacious, managing as it did to affect all of the Big Three (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day), alas. But I survived, and am moving forward, bloodied but unbowed, into the new year. And full steam ahead too!!!

Follow along below the fold - you'll be glad you did!!!

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Two Is Also Magic Number

Hi everyone - hope you are all having a wonderful pre-holiday week.

I'm a bit under the weather here, unfortunately; I was sick with a particularly nasty case of the flu at Thanksgiving (late November), and my fear is that it's paying a return visit. On that note, I will keep this post brief.

If you can believe it, I celebrated my second anniversary of living full-time about a week and a half ago. It feels as if it just happened and as if it was a million years ago. My life now has its share of challenges, but as a dear friend once said, my worst day as myself is infinitely better than my very best trying to pretend to be "him."

I find my connection to "him" is receding more and more. It's hard to put into words, but while I remember my life before transitioning, I find it increasingly difficult to relate to it. II never really was that person; I suppose it makes sense that I would begin to lose the connection with "him" once I was finally able to live as myself.

I would like to write more, and hopefully will, but for now I just want to say that these two years have been incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding.

I have learned so much about myself, particularly over the past few months. I have discovered heretofore unknown measures of self-confidence and strength and courage. All of the hard, hard work I have put in is paying off. It was, and is, totally worth the struggle.

I am proud to say that I have never tried to take the easy way out. I told myself I was going to work as hard as I can to have a successful transition, and I was not going to allow fear to dictate my life. And I have done so, and then some. And now I am beginning to reap the rewards of choosing to believe in myself, and to believe that I deserved to be  happy living the life I want as myself.

Next year is going to be the biggest year of my life. I am taking steps on several fronts to make it so. I will be writing about it in the weeks to come. Promise. I want to have a record of this period of my life so I can look back later and reflect on what it was like in the moment. So stay tuned. I cannot wait to begin the next phase of my journey.

I will end with a few pictures of myself , beginning with the day I went full-time in 2013(!), and my subsequent one- and two-year anniversaries. Photographs can only tell a piece of the story, but I think you will be able to see evidence of how far I have come in those two years.

December 2013:

December 2014:

December 2015:

For anyone reading this who is thinking of transitioning, I hope these pictures offer proof that if you are willing to work hard and believe in yourself, you CAN make your dream come true. (Then again, perhaps you may choose to view them as a cautionary tale. lol Regardless, I hope they help. :D)

***

I would be remiss if I didn't include a Christmas song or two, and I think I've picked two tracks guaranteed to put you in the mood.

Here are Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings with a spine-tingling version of "Silent Night," off their wonderful new Christmas album It's A Holiday Soul Party:

As Stephen Colbert notes in his introduction, the entire album really is this good. :c)

Next is one from a personal favorite, Bruce Cockburn, and his lovely take on the story of Christmas from his classic 1991 album Nothing But A Burning Light:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

HRT: Year Four (a/k/a Jugs (Not))

Hello all! This is a somewhat belated anniversary post. I have been battling the flu for over a week, if you can believe it. I haven't been this sick for nearly three years. Hopefully it's drawing to a close shortly. I am more than ready, believe me.

As mentioned above, this is an anniversary post, albeit a late one. It was four years ago - November 19, 2011 - that I began HRT. It seems both a lifetime ago *and* just moments ago.

I spent Thanksgiving with my dear friends T & J, as I had last year. Amazingly, it was the first time we had been together since, for a variety of reasons. While we all agreed that a year was far too long, an unintended result is the perspective that it brings.

Within minutes of my arrival, both T and J commented on how different I was from the last time they'd seen me. And I knew exactly what they meant.

I have come a long, long way in the past year, particularly in the last few months. Not just in terms of my appearance (although I have seen marked changes on that front), but, far more importantly, in my comfort level and self-confidence.

J echoed something I have heard from a number of people over the past few months: "You aren't apologizing for who you are anymore, Cass; you OWN it. And that makes all the difference."

She was correct: I do know who I am now. And I like who I am. A lot. And it shows.

I'll write more about this, but I see the difference in how people interact with me, and in how I interact with them. Confidence is a funny thing, I will simply say that. :c)

More to come in a future post, but I wanted to acknowledge just how far I've come in a year. And believe me: you ain't seen nothing yet. By this time next year things are going to be even better. I will make it happen. So stay tuned, folks; it's going to be quite a ride! But for now... I need to take another nap. (Stupid flu!) lol

***

A quick thank you to another J for the lovely red blouse I'm wearing in the photo at the top of the post. Thank you, hon - for the blouse *and* the dress! :D

***

Jason Isbell has become one of my very favorite songwriters over the past few years. He is the real deal: great singer, songwriter, guitarist... and interpreter. Here is his take on one of the best from Guy Clark, the songwriter's songwriter:

And the master's version:

And one more:

Whew... goosebumps, every time! It really doesn't get any better than that...

She's So Cold

Actually, it's more like she has a cold - because I have my annual holiday flu, alas. :-/

It began Saturday afternoon with a sore throat - as it did at the same time with my Canadian partner-in-crime, Miss April. We now not only finish each other's sentences, laugh at the same off-color jokes while watching Archer, and simultaneously text each other the same awful puns; apparently now we get sick in sync as well. (Thanks a lot, bitch!)

Anyway, it's now at the "even-my-eyebrows-hurt" stage, which hopefully means the worst is nearly over with. On top of that, my voice is utterly shot, as is April's. We were talking last night and finally had to end it early; we couldn't stop laughing about how awful our voices sounded. lol This is pretty close, for those who are curious:

(I love his version, for the record; so much emotion!!!)

I have another post in the works, which I hope to finish in the next few days, health permitting. And April and I are collaborating on our second joint post as well, so prepare yourself for that particular brand of lunacy readers have come to know so well. :D Stay tuned.

In the meantime, a classic from the Stones, circa 1980's Emotional Rescue album:

BFFs Meet Up At Last!!! (a/k/a Help! I Got Nature On Me!, a/k/a Three Bitchin' Babes)

Note: Please pay no attention to the claims of a certain leggy blonde Canadian hussy regarding the events surrounding our recent historic meeting. The poor lass is no doubt misguided due to a diet consisting of poutine, Labatt's, and maple syrup. Mine is the One True Post.

Also, neither April nor your humble blogstress harmed any polar bears, moose or koalas during our Wild Weekend, no matter what the pending lawsuits say.

You may now commence reading about our (mis)adventures. Much more to come too - soon!

Thank you!!!!

***

Well... it finally happened.

What is "it," you ask?

History, that's what.

Or, to put it differently...

This happened!!!

Yup... April & Cass finally met in person!!!

Follow below the fold for our individual takes on what was a wonderful (and much too short) get-together!!!

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