Who you were is part of who you are. Don't forget it.

[Donnie_1961]

Yeah. The guy in the beard is me. Fuzz face will always be there.  He is, and always will be, intertwined into my DNA. I can't change that. Nor would I want to. To haphazardly discard, forget, that which we were takes away from who we ultimately are or shall be.

If you're really hell bent on getting rid or hiding every molecule of the person you were you're going to find yourself lacking, missing,something of yourself. That's a terrible place to be.

I told my son. "No matter what. I am always going to be YOUR FATHER."

He needs to know, to be reassured, that I am always going to be there for him. It is a job and a responsibility that I do not take lightly. ( Perhaps if I didn't have children I might think differently.)

For my brothers,sisters and friends  who say to me " I want my Donnie back" I say to them "I'm still here." (Perhaps if I were in a world occupied by one, myself, I might think differently.)

Think about it.

Think about it hard.

 

Be safe. Be smart.

 

[Donnie_1961]

Yes. I am well aware of the sensitive nature of the audience. I'm not attempting to place anything in their mouths. Just food for the mind. To stop for a moment, take pause and think. Where one goes from there isn't up to me.  

[MetaLicious]

49 minutes ago, MaryMary said:

... To me transition is not to forget who I was or discard anything, it's to give myself the right to be myself ...

Thank you for these words, @MaryMary - I am at a point in my life where this philosophical statement could be very helpful to share with others.  I have recorded them so I can better remember these words when I need to use them.  Thank you.

[Donnie_1961]

I'll take that under advisement. Just trying to be helpful. 

I'm German too. On my mothers side. She's from a little town called Speyer on the Rhine.

 

[ShawnaLeigh]

15 hours ago, Donnie_1961 said:

He is, and always will be, intertwined into my DNA. I can't change that. Nor would I want to. To haphazardly discard, forget, that which we were takes away from who we ultimately are or shall be.

If you're really hell bent on getting rid or hiding every molecule of the person you were you're going to find yourself lacking, missing,something of yourself. That's a terrible place to be.

I totally agree and will go further that I liked that guy and appreciate everything he did in my life.  He is just not the true me, just a part of the person I am now.  (I think I posted something similar to this just a few minutes ago in another post.  LOL)