Told my Dad

Life is busy and I have meant to post earlier, but it just didn't happen. Well two weeks ago I meet up with my Dad to tell him about Max's transition. I was really nervous about telling him. I actually nervous about telling anybody, as I don't want to deal with a negative reaction. I have noticed that you try to predict how people will respond, however it is really hard to predict how people will react to your partner changing their gender, as it is really uncommon. In regards to Dad, I thought that he could go either of two ways. He could think it is just too queer and weird, and not cope at all. Or he could be very supportive as we have noticed that he treats Max like a man anyway. Actually the last time dad came to visit, Max and him talked about fixing the bedroom door and buying men's clothes.
I waited until it was dessert time to tell Dad, so if it goes wrong then we can escape from each other quickly. I started the conversation the same as I did with Mum. Dad listened well, his eyes were wide open and he was taking everything in. When I got up to the part of the story about Max taking his middle name, this is when Dad started to smile. Dad had recently changed his name to his middle name, as he did not like his birth name. Dad responded that he was really glad that Max is having the courage to live his life his way. He next stated that he has always treated Max like a man, which I replied we (Max and I) are grateful for. I was so relieved that Dad had taked it so well. Even during the conversation he started using Max's new name. I was not worried that Dad kept using female pronouns, as I told him when the T starts making more changes, the pronoun change will come more naturally. At the end of the dinner Dad told me to go home and tell Max that he is proud that Max has the courage to be honest and active to live [his] life [his] way. I am very impressed with my family's reactions, they have been and are FANTASTIC.

We are still gearing up to tell Max's parents. Max has written his final draft (it took a few as it is such an important letter) and his ready to send it soon. I guess I should say that we are telling his parents through a letter for a few reasons.
1) His parents live overseas and they won't be back in Australia until September (and a lot of changes will have occured by then).
2) It is actually recommended to tell parents by letter as they have a chance to absorb the news before reacting, and
3) We don't want to be present for the first reaction, as this could ruin relationships.
We realised after telling Max's brother that it is not always the best thing to be there for the initial reaction, as emotions can escalate and reaction can change as the information is absorbed and processed (Max's brother is much better about the whole thing). We are still very nervous about telling them, but I think it will be good to get it over with and deal with their reactions as they occur rather then trying to anticipate their reactions.