Y’know, I have always been one to want to keep my male and female sides separate. There is much to discuss on the merits or demerits of mixing genders – feminine masculinity and masculine femininity – but I’ll leave those for another time.

Right now, I am talking about my personal efforts to be a real guy when I’m a guy, and a real gal when I’m Jane. This requires, for me, a change not only of clothing but mindset, and so, I prefer to be Janie in as large blocks of time as life will permit, and my male self likewise in big chunks of time.

I would much rather have Janie days and guy days, and but I have to take my Janie time when it’s there, which is here a few hours and there a few hours; It doesn’t tend to come in full-day blocks, as any gurl will confirm.

This makes things very hard for me, and I have found myself thinking like Janie while being a guy and vice versa – and I don’t approve of that one single bit!

Also, my lovely girlfriend rarely gets a full day with her man… there’s always Janie getting her time in. And I think she needs that break, to spend time with her man without interference from the new woman in our lives.

So, I am starting to get the sense that I am going to have to block off time for him, time that Jane is not allowed to invade. I have to make a point of arranging dates with my girlfriend that revolve primarily around, well… trying to romance and delight her by taking her to shows or nice dinners or even art galleries and museums (horror!).

That kind of wholesome fun is what she craves and needs… and it’s probably good for my own sanity as well.

We are both just feeling our way through this whole thing as it happens, so touching home base once in a while – for a solid block of time – is a good idea. And, lucky for my male side, it is really easy to schedule those times for him. Janie doesn’t have that privilege.