The Party's Over

I'd like to thank all my friends for the pre-SRS party they threw for me on Saturday. I was afraid that it might turn into a "Fred is Dead" kinda thing. Instead, it was a nice get-together with my closest friends. One of the most interesting parts was when each person was asked to tell some anecdote about me. When I was president of TGEA I knew that some people looked to me as a role model. It wasn't apparent to me until Saturday that so do some of my friends. Rachel got most emotional, as she told how for a while we used to seem to be progressing in parallel. However, the day I started hormones was the day she decided she would need to follow another path. It's a choice she says she's at peace with, but the thought of what she's given up sometimes overwhelms her. Several people mentioned things that I had forgotten. I was glad that the whole thing was a nice, warm moment rather than a "roast". I even got a few presents! The balloon in the picture was from Roxanne. It really made me laugh. I was also given some girlie underwear from Target with the interesting company name of "Fred is Red." Too cute.

Possibly the most interesting was a picture frame from Jenny. She put a picture in the frame that I couldn't figure out for a while. First I thought it was a picture from my recent colonoscopy and then I thought that it was a neovagina (this possibility really scared me because I couldn't really pick out the expected features). Finally, she told me that it was a picture of a clam, since she predicts that I will end up "happy as a clam."

I had some nice, intimate talks with some of my friends. Of the group, only Jenny is post-op. What surprised me from her is how much she downplays the whole experience. She had her surgery in Thailand and, by preference, made the trip alone (I was never prepared to do this alone!) She says she was going out shopping three days after surgery and that she never needed to sit on a doughnut. She also said that the main, 15 hour flight back was no big deal. Is she serious or is this something akin to what a mother experiences after childbirth, loss of negative details? I wonder if I may experience the same sort of selective memory. In my case, however, I will have Michele there to observe and record the truth. I hope that Jenny's version is truly accurate and that I have a similar experience!

I know that several of my friends wish it was them going now for surgery. Some have already made the conscious decision to forgo surgery. Others are still too unsure of where their journey will take them. I'm glad to have them all wishing me Bon Voyage!