Tips
That last shade of nail polish wasn't quite right: too pale, wrong shade, didn't work with her skin color. So I replaced it with the gem tone blue/green that I've been itching to try on her. We love it! Her skin tone does really well with such a strong color. Hooray! If you wear nail polish, do you prefer bold colors? Or ones that are not noticeable?
She is much better than I about protecting her nails until they dry thoroughly. I was never able to do that -- ever. I always brushed against a doorway, or bumped into furniture that smudged/scuffed the polish. I could never sit still long enough to let it set. I would love to try some of her softer colors. I still don't trust myself. I can't sit still without fidgeting, and can't think of anything productive that I can do while they dry. No reading, typing, cleaning, writing, rearranging... What can I do?
Tops
Beth jumped up to let me take her picture several times after I told her about a photo app that feminizes your face. It was great fun to see what it did. Our favorite three results gave me ideas for continuing to shape her eyebrows, reassured me that we're on the right path with styling her hair, and gave us somewhat of a preview for what her makeup will look like.
Of course, she didn't like any of the photos; she was ill at ease with being photographed, as usual, and wasn't feeling dressed or groomed for looking beautiful. She looks forward to preparing better and doing another photo shoot. What has been your experience with these apps?
Bottoms
Beth pulled out a WinterSilks catalog to look at with me. She had been admiring the leggings on the front cover. Leggings! I never considered that she'd like them! She recalls that I have been admiring the crazy patterned ones for the past couple years (but haven't bought any, choosing to stick with my dark drab warm soft thick sweat pants with wool thermal long johns all winter). She wanted to know what I thought of her wearing the leggings herself. Wow! What a surprise! Lovely!
You see, she has worn 3 styles of blue jeans during the 20 years that we've been together. First, baggy men's Ralph Lauren jeans that lasted almost forever. When they wore out, and she had lost 30 lbs., she switched to slightly more fitted Ralph Lauren boys' jeans. Since they were fashionably distressed, they wore out, so she switched to similar American Eagle jeans. She wore out her first batch of them, and resisted replacing them until she was down to just two pairs. I thought she'd really like drawstring pants or sweatpants, but she persistently resisted. Finally now I know what she's been wanting! Yay! It makes so much sense now for her to gravitate to pants that will show off her changing shape as HRT takes affect, and to resist wearing "guy" jeans. Leggings are certainly the opposite of the pants she has been wearing.
Edited to add:
Blood
Three couples were in the waiting room while we waited for Beth's turn for her annual blood tests. She felt accepted by two of the couples. The husband of the third couple rubbed her the wrong way. I laughed with the gentleman as he sat down while he joked about his shoes matching his purse. You see, he was apparently uncomfortable carrying his wife's purse for her as she hobbled in an orthopedic shoe, using a cane, and clutching tightly to him. Beth told me later that the old man then turned toward her, and stared and glared.
My beloved spouse who existed a few weeks ago might have not wanted to return to that lab again, afraid of stirring up such an unpleasant experience again. But Beth talked out her feelings, and said that the first two couples were great, as was the wife of the third couple. She quickly realized that the miserable man was miserable, and she didn't have to be. He was unreasonable, and trapped in stereotypes, and she didn't have to be. She felt the choice and freedom to keep her head up, and enjoy her life. Who could imagine a better response than that?
