One thing to which I'll readily admit is not acting my age.
It helps, I suppose, that I'm still surprisingly healthy. I have no ailments or medical conditions that slow me down, and so far I have lost neither strength nor mental acuity. I work consistently as a freelance writer under contract.
If you've read any of my books, you know I'm a very silly person. I think that laughing a lot may help to fend off mental decline. It doesn't soften the harsh realities of life, but perhaps it makes enduring them a bit easier. And it gave me the ability to see a funny side of being gender dysphoric.
After decades of stoically resisting what my mind was telling me, I made the decision at 81 to live in the role of a woman. I always thought I could fight it. I thought I SHOULD fight it. And that meant being pulled toward the truth and then backing away from it, over and over again. What a ride.
When you're this old, it's so easy to think you can just ride out whatever time you have left without resolving the issue. But I had come to see that I was needlessly suffering for the sake of others. It was all about what people might think - not what would bring me peace.
And so I took the plunge. So now, I'm not acting my age OR my gender.
But I'm happy. And I think you'll enjoy my story.