RATS

So, this was a short-lived rural transsexual support group. The trans members of Brokeback Palouse + me got together with the intention of starting a group that went beyond what was available in the area. The few other support groups weren't trans-led and were mainly geared toward helping people start transition, not supporting the long, ongoing process. We also wanted something that had more space for theory, and deliberately focused on rural living.

We were able to meet twice in person, and they were beautiful shining moments, but then COVID happened and we had to pivot to remote stuff. There were a few group phone calls. I delivered homemade caramels to doorsteps during one of them. It was really too hard to do much more than check-ins, as we were all suffering so much in our own special ways right there at the start of the pandemic. We did a few zooms too, and our interactions got more intermitent. We met once in the arboreteum, then it all kind of fizzled out.

I think this encapsulates a lot of my grief about the pandemic. This is exactly the kind of world I was on the edge of in spring 2020, but the times have changed and the earth has turned. I'm glad this happened. I'm thankful for the seeds it planted and fertlized. God bless all us rats.