Well, I guess I'm just living the girl's life now.
Monday it included grocery shopping. I used to absolutely
hate grocery shopping! I posted some of this in another thread, but to my surprise I found myself loving the experience. I had the profound realization that I could be perfectly happy as a housewife. Maybe it's because in my previous life I had a satisfying job for a while, and with that behind me I feel free to let my preferences evolve. Whatever it was, instead of being in a hurry and bad-tempered, I just relaxed and smiled at everyone, and they smiled back. Life is so much better that way.
When I went to check out, the cashier seemed unhappy and harried, and never smiled for the customers in front of me. When I got there I once again channeled my heroine
@Anne Blake , and asked her how her day had been and struck up a conversation. When I left she was smiling and wished me a good day. That made
me smile.
There are, of course, a few added "enhancements" that my cis-sisters don't have to deal with. I had the unbridled joy of going for Hot Needle Treatment yesterday morning. This is the second time I tried this person, who uses the blend method. It's slower but so much less painful - and that pain applies to the cost, too. It's a lot cheaper. At the end of the session I bought a block of 10 hours, which made it even less expensive. And I was properly named and gendered for all of it.
After HNT I went shopping, and unlike most shopping trips, this time I was successful. A nice top, two dresses, and some pretty dress sandals. When I checked out this cashier was so wonderful. We talked about what I was buying a dress for along with all sorts of other stuff. Just a couple ladies sharing. When I headed for the door she said, "Good luck at your event! You'll look great!" Squeeeee!
Today I've been chasing paperwork. I decided to get a Known Flyer Number with TSA so I'm guaranteed Pre-Chek security when I fly. I filled out all the forms online, and went to my appointment today. As part of the paperwork you're required to list any previous names. Oh boy. I wondered what kind of weirdness that was going to cause at my appointment. When I sat down the gentleman brought up the records I'd filled out and started running through the screens to have me verify all the data was correct. Name, email, address, previous name, phone numbers... that fast, and with as little fanfare. Take the fingerprints, pay the money, thank you Stephanie. And off I went. Well, whaddayaknow? That was easy. So now I'm in the town where my bestie works waiting to go to dinner.
Tomorrow I have to get back to work and make up for the three days I've been out and about. But the last couple of days have done wonders for my confidence and my sense of self. I've been telling myself that I'm living the new normal for a while now, but I've never really
felt it like this before. Who knows if I'll backslide, but it sure feels like I've turned some sort of corner and relaxed into a new existence. My wish is that any of my sisters and brothers still reading this thread get to this point, and find the peace of truly living as you wish to.
Stephanie
PS: I'm writing this while trapped by rain in a Peterbrooke Chocolatier shop. Oh, the horror!
