That evening, she and Dad went for a walk, something they didn’t often do unless they had some serious discussions to have and didn’t want me to hear. Call me silly, but I was once again starting to get concerned! When they got back, they were smiling and laughing so I guessed everything was OK.  Dad just looked at me for a second and smiled. “Davey, you know we love you, always remember that. You might think we’re…well, punishing you for what you like to do. There will be some big changes ahead for you…and for your mom and me too! Please understand we’re all just trying to see where this goes, OK? You…well, WE…are going to have a great deal of adjustment in our lives. I know you‘ll do your best and…well, don’t worry, we’ll get this all sorted out.”

Oh man…I knew the bomb would finally drop! He just told me I was ‘not’ being punished! SURE!

The next morning Mom and I went once again to Dr. Samuelson’s office. Inside, She walked to her chair, gently patting my head on the way, and began.

“Your parents and I have talked about putting you into a ‘test period’ and they have agreed with me that it may be the best way to find out where we go from here. David, we’ve moved very, very fast here. Normally I would be talking all this over with someone for months before doing this test, but your father has indicated we don’t have a long time frame to work with. This certainly isn’t without some risk, but…from what you’ve told in all these talks you and I have had, I think your youth helps move more quickly than for an adult…”

I just looked at her for a few moments, not understanding. She laughed lightly, and went on to explain.

“You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about! Well…you remember I said before that maybe your brain is simply more like that of a young girl than a young boy. But maybe you’re just overly fascinated about girls, their clothes, and all sorts of feminine things….more like a real curiosity than something you really want? It’s like…you saw some special toy…or a book for example! You can’t think of anything else maybe. Then…you get that thing and….after a few days you play with it or read it, and usually get bored with it pretty quickly. So…you go back to your other toys, or books, or whatever you want to imagine comparing it to. It could wind up being the perfect all around toy, or book, or whatever, and it‘s with you forever.. That may be your desire to look and even be like girls. Maybe it’s just a curiosity that you would get bored with! Maybe it’s the perfect fit for what you need. Does that make sense?”

I nodded my head, I think I understood what she was getting at…

“Ok then. The next task for us all is how to find out if being a girl is that special toy or book that lasts, or if it’s just an immense curiosity for you. A psychology professor in Canada described, in some of his lectures, the idea of a test to figure out a very similar question about some people’s desire to become someone different. For example, someone who always thought they wanted to be a dancer would be given the chance to actually study dance and try performing. They might discover it wasn’t what they thought it would be. It wasn’t just glamorous and exciting…It was hard work even if they were good at it! If they found it wasn’t what they really thought it would be like…they could move on with their other plans and dreams and no harm was done. In a way, that’s exactly what we want to do with you. Find out if your desire is more than just…well, curiosity!

To do that, you are going to have to be a girl for a while…a ‘test period!’  Your parents will treat you like a girl – you will have to dress like a girl, act like a girl, and face obstacles a girl your age would face. If this is simply an overwhelming curiosity about what it would be like to be a girl, and nothing more, you’ll get tired of it very quickly I’m sure. In his lectures, he has suggested such a test period should last long enough to give the person a chance to really understand what they might have to do if they pursued their…well, their dream! Since you’re so very young, I think we’ll all know very soon. Of course, if you find it’s exactly what you dreamed it would be…then we’ll all have to try and accommodate that result, maybe with a much longer test period…or…a more permanent change.

So….from this afternoon on, whenever you are not in school, you are no longer going to be allowed to be a boy. It won’t be easy! But you have to promise me…and your parents….you will try your best. For your part, it’s going to be hard to ’BE’ a girl. As you told me early on, you don’t know what that’s really like. Your mother assured me she’ll push you, and she’ll be hard on you!  So will your father, I’m sure. They are both taking this very seriously, and I want you to as well. At first, I imagine it will seem fun to you, but the ’novelty’ will soon wear off and you will begin to understand how different things would be if you were a girl.  Now…I want to see you in a few weeks, but I’ll drop by your home and we’ll see how you’re doing there instead of my office,