I've been posting like crazy this morning - I'm the mom of a F to M kid. I am ragingly liberal, have LBGTQ students and friends and worked in social services for a decade. Am I handling the transition well? Nope, not even close. As a parent it's hard to be objective. For myself, I am sad about missing milestones of having a daughter. Dress shopping, having her raid my closet, doing "girlie" things. The other, larger part of it is having a tremendous fear about what she will face in the world because so many people are so awful. Trans folks are marginalized and hurt in so many ways and I know this will cause her pain. As a parent, your job is to protect your kid from pain and I worry about her future. I know that doesn't make sense, because she would trade safety with denying her true self. I get it on an intellectual level, I do. I just know there's going to be pain she never expected or contemplated and it terrifies me.

For your situation I'd suggest working with a gender counselor and having the counselor there when you do the big reveal. It probably won't be a shock to them! But they will also probably need time to change their own perceptions and ideals. Understand that if they respond with shock and denial, it's not necessarily about you. If you can find it in yourself to be patient with them, that would be ideal. Answer questions patiently even when they're stupid questions and your parents are being really annoying. My daughter (son, I guess) shuts me out when I try to talk about it and it ends up being a big blow up.

For me, the bottom line is that I love my child and nothing he/she could ever do will change that. So we'll get there. It's just a major adjustment and I'm a dinosaur, so it's hard for me to do new things! This is a process but I sincerely hope the end result is a happy child an a good relationship. Good luck, please keep me posted because I'd like to hear how this works out for you.

what state do you live in? i live in indiana and im not supported by my parents but i am by my friends.

Ohio! The Cleveland area.

And don't count your folks out, give them a good long chance. My kid would probably say I'm not supportive either. I am, I'm just a little freaked out. Okay, completely freaked out! But I love my child and that will never, ever change.

Very common! hang in there - youre so beautiful and incredible. IT WILL SHINE THROUGH SOMEDAY

Thank you for the comments makes my anxiety levels go down. And I really truly do appreciate them. Thank you.

Does anyone know how to get a gender counselor? I'm from Washington state idk if there is like certain places or groups that you go to or websites.