While on a typical voyage between Australia and Vancouver, British Columbia, the navigator, who was finishing a star fix came upon something incredible. Hearing about what the navigator came upon, the captain, John DS. Phillips soon achieved something impossible that would mark their place in history and remember for altering the ship’s course, adjusting engine speed, and rechecking their position every three hours. At precisely midnight, she was in place.
What she (the ship) had achieved was quite mind-boggling. It had positioned herself in two different days, two different seasons, two different hemispheres, two different years, two different months, and two different centuries. You see, she was at the junction of the equator and the international date line where it was January 1, 1900, in the southern hemisphere and December 31, 1899, in the northern hemisphere.
It was no small feat and one that took much planning and hard work. Sound familiar? Well, I suspect it would. How many times have we heard others or ourselves for that matter, lament that we wished we had transitioned earlier in life? Or at the very least, recognized that we were transgender? But, perhaps, we should question why the lamenting.
The SS Warrimoo was “born” on May 28, 1892, but would not reach her destiny for another seven years. Seven years that inevitably kept getting closer and closer, and for which she had been currently unaware of the notion that would define her destiny. But on that fateful day everything lined up in perfect order; she was where she needed to be and at the time that she needed to be there.
In many ways, we are the same. We too have a birthdate, a future that we can only navigate but can’t know. In this, we learn with each event we experience; how it brings us closer to that place we need to be and at the time when we need to be there. If we rush it, then we will miss it, just as assuredly as if we had put it off after recognizing the “star fix.” If our navigator had ignored it, we would have never gotten to our place in time and space.
So, while I will sit back, smile, and contemplate my life, I do not lament the fact that it was any different than the time and space that had my name scrawled on it, even being a different time and space for me. Granted, mine does not carry a date and time stamp as does the SS Warrimoo’s, nor will the start of my transgender realization ever wind up in the history books; I think I can live with that.
I can wake each day with a smile, albeit a tired one, and know that each day I will be at the right place and time that I am supposed to be. The day’s experiences will be exactly what they are supposed to be. They will, of course, be aided by a great navigator and captain, so I stay on that course and continue living a fruitful and productive life.
So, do not lament what you missed because it was something you wished had happened in the past. Rejoice and embrace the time and place you are so you can enjoy the transgender person you are; because day one of the transition may be closer than you think. So have your charts at the ready, and make sure your astrolabe is in tip-top shape.
Hugs
More Articles by Michelle Lawson
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Michelle Lawson
Latest posts by Michelle Lawson (see all)
- SS Warrimoo - February 26, 2025
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Hey Michelle what a great article with a message that really reasonates with so many of us. Thank you
We do not have the ability to go back in time. While we can lament the fact that we didn’t do something in the past, there are really only 2 options: move forward or stay as we are. Actually, the only real choice is to move forward as we already know what the past has been like, and as transpeople, we know it isn’t a place where we want to dwell.
Michelle, At first I wasn’t going to read your article because it sounded like a history lesson. Then I said to myself, “Naw, there has to be something more to this." I’m glad I read it. I have often felt my late blooming/transition was meant to be. Who will ever know for sure, though? I’ve felt that all the things I had done as a man may have been meant to be. I can’t change now that I was a guy all those years and I’ve learned not to lament it, but at the same time I still wish I… Read more »
JAKe, absolutely, you hit the nail on the head. Ya know, truth be told, all my articles are like that. They kinda have to be. As being transgender is part of the human fabric, so too are there similarities between everything that we all experience. Heck, my last one ‘The World Wonders’ isn’t about two WW2 Navy Admirals, it’s about…….
Hugs
Michelle what a wonderful article so are we the celestial body that the astrolabe is to measure? Loved the article!!!
Hugs Barbra
Great article Michelle!
Lovely read. Thanks Michelle. 🙂
Awesome article Michelle !
Alexis