You can certainly see why tears can really flow when you are happy!
Made this one a few minutes ago. Not sure if you are aware, but Caitlyn Masked is taking a hiatus, possibly a permanent one, as her life takes her on an exciting new course.
She titled her post, Times .. They Are a Changin', and it seems they do, whether we want them to or not. Helped my daughter move this week. Really happy for her, and she won't be that far away that I can't hop in a car and be there within an hour, but its a weird feeling. I am in that mode right now with Caitlyn as well. Both were to be expected, and I can still walk 15 steps into my daughter's bedroom (as its mostly staying the same, mostly without clothes and/or computer and lesser amounts of stuffed animals on the bed) and I can wander over to Caitlyn's site or see her captions on the Haven any time I wish as well.
For my daughter, its the next chapter of her life and I am going to be a big part of it, but as much more of an observer than an active participant. I've done my role to see that she's ready and capable of being an adult, fulfilling her spot in society and be tough enough to fight the daily slings, carve out what is rightfully hers, and take no shit from anyone. She's a fighter, and I've seen it daily.
The wondrous thing though is to see how I've grown as well. I am not really that old, and I had her when I didn't think I was capable of being a parent, but I tried my damnedest to be whatever she needed me to be at the time. My effort, and all the best and worst times of my life are right there invested in her for all to see. I wish I could've given her more financial support, nicer clothes, a reliable vehicle, the college she deserves to attend, but she knows that everything we've achieved, we earned it, and that short cuts are only empty promises. I am a much different (and better) person than I was when she was born, and I have her to thank for speeding up this evolution in me.
I kind of feel responsible for Caitlyn being around here, on blogger and the Haven. She always had the talent, and I just gave her some exposure which bloomed into a top notch TG Caption site. For selfish reasons, I would love for her to find the balance between real life and Fantasy, but know that that can be a tenuous and fragile thing. Each of us is a different entity, and as Calvin says, Caitlyn could've been something that filled his life when some parts were not being fulfilled. She definitely became a peer though, and part of that pantheon of captioners I call friends.
That lead to this caption. Most of the friends I had when I started out doing this aren't around much anymore, and its possible that Caitlyn will be joining that list of people that just aren't very active. I've still got Jennifer, Simone, Kaitlyn and Dalene .. though each of them have also disappeared from time to time, luckily for me, they do come back! I'm not sure where I'd be if they all vanished at the same time. Lets hope I never do have to deal with something like that.
I guess I really am a Vampire in a way, as I need new blood to keep me fresh and moving forward. All the friends from way back understood me in a way that takes a good amount of effort to put forth. I love when new people come here and make themselves known. Regulars keep me from feeling out of touch and helpful to the community at large.
I've added a few more people to the Blogs list and hope you all can direct me to some other quality caption sites I may have missed. Caitlyn stays in there unless she directly says in the future that she's done .. and even then I might leave it in there as a reference point for others to see just how much thought, planning, and style can be put into a TG caption.
Just seemed like the perfect song to encapsulate the last week or two.
PS. Hope you didn't mind me using you for the caption Joanna. It seemed like the sort of outfit you would really like to wear, soooooo ... there ya go!