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The holiday season can be a complicated time for everyone as we reunite with our families for a couple of days. Our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles might be forced to reckon with the fact that who we are as people have evolved into someone they’re not entirely familiar with anymore. This especially rings true for the LGBTQ+ community as they go home to a family who is either in the dark about their identity, not accepting, or generally doesn’t know how to feel about it.
But sometimes, you can get really lucky to have family members who just simply…get it. These are the people who affirm your identity and will do everything they can to support you, which is the best gift one can ask for. This is precisely the present that Twitter user Gabe’s grandmother gave to him.
Gabe went on Twitter to talk about how his grandmother borrowed his childhood Raggedy Ann doll prior to the holidays to make some necessary adjustments. She took the doll, which originally had his birth name on its chest, and returned it on Christmas day with stitching that read “I heart Gabe” which is his taken name. She also gave the doll a new haircut and dressed it in pants.
“He’s trans, like me,” Gabe wrote on Twitter.
His grandmother also gave him a bunch of other gifts with his chosen name on it, such as a pocket knife with “Gabe” engraved and a t-shirt that reads “I’m Gabe doing Gabe things.”
We promise that we are not crying, you are. These are the types of stories that give us hope that change and acceptance can truly happen when love and understanding are practiced.
Happy Holidays, y’all—especially to Gabe and his grandma.
