C-Day Letter

Dear Friends,

Wow, I didn't realize I had so many friends, but look at that list! I thought you would all like to hear how "Coming-out-at-work" day went. In short, it has been wonderful.

As some of you already know, the little company I work for (______, 25 people, no money in the bank) just got acquired by a slightly larger little company (_______, 100 people, $90M in the bank.) This seemed like a good opportunity to make my transition at work, as there is now some job stability and I will shortly be meeting a bunch of new people. I was very ready to do it, and this was the last piece of the puzzle.

Today I presented the "Dear Boss..you'll never guess what.." letter to our founders, who happen to be a Chinese fellow and an Indian fellow). They were both completely supportive. They said whatever makes me happy is fine with them, and they value my contribution regardless of whether I'm a man or woman. I asked them if they thought there would be any cultural problems with the predominently Asian staff, and they said no, this sort of thing is expected in California. Next I talked to the V.P. of Human Resources at ______, and he was equally supportive. He said he would check to see if the policy manual had anything to say about it, and if he didn't like what it said, he'd re-write it! I also told a few of the other people I am close to at the office, and they said, "Good for you!" as well. Best of all, one lady said, "Great, now we can go shopping!" She's singing my tune!

Tomorrow there happens to be a big company lunch, our last together before we get absorbed into ____________. I'm going to use that opportunity to announce my transition to everybody here at ______. Over Christmas break our offices get moved into the _________ building (just across the freeway from us), and Jan 2 I'll go in to the new office as Lannie. "All Lannie All The Time", it's a beautiful thing!

Seriously, I am overwhelmed by the warm feelings of love and support I'm getting from everybody here at work. A big part of it is, I realize that the love has always been available to me, I just wasn't making myself available to accept it. I'm discovering that the world can be a pretty wonderful place after all.

And to you my friends who have helped me grow and discover myself this year, thank you too. I love you all. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, and I look forward to staying close with you as the years go by. BTW, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Lannie
(formally, soon legally?, Elaine Rose _________)

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