This is the story of how Emery Walters became whom he was supposed to be.<br><br>I knew I was male at an early age, something that was a societal no-no in the 1950s and still is in parts of the country today. Burying my male identity, I strove to be the best woman possible. But after raising my four wonderful children from two debilitating marriages, I found myself alone and nearly penniless. That was when Emery asserted his identity.<br><br>Life became better with the shift from female to male, a third marriage, and a wife who, herself, transitioned from male to female.

Some Fine Day

‘I did the best I could’ is a two-sided statement. Considering that when we hear it, we already know better and can see where they should have/could have done better—but: ‘I did the best I knew how’ changes things—to a degree.


My mom was a semi-orphan who did not know how to raise children any better than she did, given her time, let alone ahead of her time. Parenting ‘then’ was raising the kids. Parenting now—treasuring the kids. It all changes and then we judge backward.


So said; being a mother and getting the feedback later on from at least one if not all four of my own kids—changes things once again. Was I ever mean on purpose? I hope not, but I did lose my temper. I spanked. Everybody did then. I probably negated a lot because hey, that’s all I knew how to do. Now that I do know better—my kids are grown and gone and surprisingly and thankfully, doing better than they learned from me. How did they do that when I could not?


Chapter 94