I'm almost three years out (OMG!) and I can tell you the surprises keep coming. Or maybe it's just that I am still not used to my "new" body. For example, it is still odd to me that I can wear a size x-large or even a large with regularity. I shop in the "regular" sections of stores now, but sometimes I still shake my head when I try something on and it looks good (or at least passable) on me.
The new trend of maxi-length dresses almost passed me by. I have always been of the mindset that long dresses make me look like a box. I had no real discernible curves, so put me in anything long and I look sorta like a coffin. Not really a great style. Dresses were never a part of my wardrobe at all till I married Erich and moved to Canada. His mother, who made a lot of my clothes because I couldn't find anything here that would fit me, began making me skirts and dresses. I didn't know any women who routinely wore these..."things"...but she kept making them for me. So I kind of felt obligated to wear them. She made a black floor-length skirt for me and I wore it to my stepdaughter Ericha's confirmation in 2002:
I look like I have no bottom half. I'm just one big blob. Very Jabba the Hut-like. At least with pants, I had legs. LOL! This is why I never wore dresses, especially long ones. And yes, I was carrying a cane - at age 32.
I was in Old Navy recently and maxi dresses were everywhere. I decided to try one on and hey...I don't look too bad in this! I look tall and thin. What a revelation. Then I remembered that I already DO have a maxi dress, and I wore it last year during our trip to the Dominican Republic (click this one to enlarge):
So I forget sometimes and am still surprised.
Just the other day, I started to run a bath and left the room for a moment....then I ran back in to stop the water so I could still have room to get in the damn thing and not overflow it. When I stepped inside, it was half full. Ooops. Yeah, right. More water.
I still occasionally check furniture before I sit on it to be sure it will hold me. If it looks rickety, I stop and a moment of panic flashes before I remember that it's ok.
Other surprises along the way:
- How quickly that pouch fills up when you're newly post-op. Pay attention!
- Less laundry because of smaller clothes.
- I can go away for at least four days with a carry-on-sized suitcase.
- Water rushes by my hips in the tub now. My ass is no longer a dam.
- Clothes in general are FAR less expensive.
- The lack of problems and complications I've had. I've been lucky.
- My feet shrank 2 sizes; my fingers 5 sizes; my bra, 5 band sizes (48 to 38)
- I can no longer open doors by simply leaning against them.
- I look all right with short hair.
- The excess skin thing SUCKS.
- Everything that used to be oily is now dry: Hair, skin, nails, etc.
- I've become cold-natured. I rarely sweat anymore. I *glisten*
- Activity is thoughtless
- Pain is not normal. Now when my back or knees ache, it really bothers me!
- My apparent ability to inspire others. Unexpected and humbling.
- I can change. I can adapt. I can do things I never thought possible.
I could sit here all night and think of a lot more things but that's the gist off the top of my head. This journey is a long and winding road. There really is no end to it; you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and embrace the next surprise around the corner. Good or bad, I promise there's a lesson to be learned.
