My Butterfly
Some of you are finding this out here and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry that you didn’t know M more completely.
M came out to me as transgender in 2016. Although I wasn’t told until then, I had always known unconsciously from the moment we met. M felt like a woman trapped in a male body. It made sense to me and it didn’t change the amazing person I viewed her to be. Knowing her as her authentic self actually deepened my love for her.
M lived her entire life feeling uncomfortable and not right, but bravely decided at 46 years young, to traverse this sometimes-cruel world to be true to herself. I feel blessed to have witnessed her exploration and the start of making her physical outside match the person she had always been inside. In January 2019, she decided to transition to a female name and pronouns. Keeping her name close to what her parents gave her, she decided on Michaela.
It was a beautiful journey and absolutely amazing to see her bravely telling her friends and family. She preferred telling people in person. So, if you are finding this out here, please know it wasn’t intended to be a slight. The chance simply hadn’t presented itself.
Last year, at this time, we celebrated Pride. I’d never seen her happier than I did that week. She was beautiful, so incredibly beautiful! It breaks my heart that this beautiful person didn’t get to share that with all of you before the cancer consumed her.
I am so grateful for the enormous amount of acceptance, love and support her friends and family gave her. She was stunned and overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and welcoming as she shared. She often teared up realizing how many people loved her and received her unconditionally for who she is.
I personally want to thank you. You enriched her life through your supportive and open hearts. You made it easier for her to live her most authentic life. Thank you for all you did to welcome my beautiful Michaela.
If anyone has questions, please feel free to drop me a message on Facebook. It might take me a few days to answer, but Michaela was kind and generous with her life and her experiences. If you have negative emotions or thoughts about Michaela when reading this, I would ask you turn inward. Please try to understand why someone else living a loving authentic life is making you uncomfortable and try see this as an opportunity to grow.