I knew I had chosen a safe space in which to experience my grand initiation of wearing unmistakably women's shoes in public, but I wasn't prepared for the feeling of joy that flooded my heart.

"You had a beautiful baby boy." Those were the first words I heard after my child was born. I named him Daniel and started dressing him in clothes made for boys. But, raising a child is often full of the unexpected.

A few weeks before my son Danny's 4th birthday, I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween. "I wanna be a princess," he said. He didn't hesitate for a second. But I did. I cringed inside and tried hard not to show it.