I'm a little over 3 months post-op and recently got my civil identity change which means that even my birth certificate is modified to indicate that I am female. With this, I can say that my transition is completely finished and as others already said, life goes on. In my own case, I am very busy setting up my own business which is designed to keep me working for as long as possible, probably until I'm hitting seventy if I continue to enjoy the good health I have enjoyed up until now. I'm also writing a book so between one thing and another, the days are flying by.
As it happens, apart from pre-surgery anxiety (lot's of it) GRS was not that big a deal for me. I never saw it as a life changer (unlike FFS which definitely was a life changing experience for me), just as something that finally made sense given that I was very comfortable finally living as a woman. Happily, after a totally trouble free recovery, I can say that I really love the extra personal comfort/confidence that comes from having a totally female appearance, amply justifying the investment.
Otherwise, I've always considered that transitioning as "an end in itself" was a very dangerous pursuit because life is not just about gender. Life is also very much about relationships with others, work, leisure activities etc.. and all of these need to be considered when making a decision to transition because once it is done, that's what you're back to, hopefully in a better place than before. My own transition came at a considerable cost on the professional front (but even that might still work out for the best...) but I have gained massively on the relationships side, especially with other women.
End of the day though, you are back to life "as usual" just presenting to the world more at peace with yourself. However, all things else being equal, that should position you to get more out of your post-transition existence than if you hadn't transitioned...
