Releasing them

At 26 and 24 you cannot interfere much in the lives of your children. They are their own persons and at this age they squirm when you cross a line as a parent. They can be quick to roll their eyes or tell you after the fact that you embarrassed them in front of a waiter with your enthusiasm.

Parents have trouble letting go and we want to hear from them even when they say they have nothing new to report. They don't yet realize something which will affect them should they ever become parents. My normally measured and stoic son is even less prone than most to be a fountain of information.

Even my daughter who lives with me is highly private and we might see each other only a few minutes per day but she needs and wants her space while I have earned my right to focus primarily on myself for the first time in decades. Her starting to date someone new only encourages her impetus towards looking to her own needs.

It is an interesting phase which as a transgender person with no restrictions could confuse some of us. For there are no limitations which could at once be seen as extremely liberating but, if not sufficiently mentally prepared, potentially scary as hell.

You might say I've been preparing for this phase my whole life.