[flamesabers]

Your own comments seem to make good sense to me, and particularly your point on self esteem. I'm not so certain about becoming a different person; it seems to me more a case of one's basic personality being modulated, sometimes profoundly, by hormonal and environmental circumstances. Having been brought up very much in the 'stiff upper lip' tradition, I used to be embarrassed by unpredictable surges of emotion amongst many other things. These emotional episodes have become more intense, how much as a result of low T and how much as a result of higher T I don't know. Although I think that I've become a more relaxed person and less inclined to fight against 'letting it all hang out', I still found myself struggling to hide my tears from the vet when we had to have our fifteen year old dog put down on Monday, although I have largely given up on worrying about hiding my breast development - which represents a major character shift for me. I know this sounds muddled, but while I continue to surprise myself on this journey, I am still me.

I'm also sorry for your loss.

As a child and adult I've found crying to be therapeutic. When I need to cry, I think there is a good reason for it. Sometimes I'm really sad about something, other times I think my body just needs the release. I hope being open about your grief helps you to cope with the hardships of your loss.

That's interesting. My dad was never around growing up either, except every now and then he'd stay for a week, get really drunk, and start breaking shit. Wasn't a fan.

I also don't want kids and like cats and war documentaries lol.

Are you teasing me Sarah?

Maybe it's just me, but I think you're making us sound like a sort of pseudo online couple or something.

Yeah, I'm teasing you pretty much. The psuedo online couple is part of the humor, to me.

I think we've interacted enough for that to not creep you out I guess.

Sorry if it did, not at all serious.

My father didn't drink, but my mom always wished he would've had a job that didn't require him to be away so much. What I find to be interesting though is my brother grew up in the same household and he turned out to be the typical male, unlike me. He has a wife and kid, likes sports, has grown a beard, doesn't care for animals and he enjoys spending time with the guys. I suppose this reinforces the idea of nature having a significant role in the development of one's gender identity.

In regards to your couple's joke, no it didn't creep me out. (I found it to be very amusing.) This is one of the reasons why I really enjoy having substantive conversations with you and others on this board. It allows us to learn and understand the kind of person others are, even though we haven't met in person.