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| An image I took at one of the tables at the birthday party. |
As I previously wrote about, I recently attended a birthday party for a dear friend of mine who happens to be a transgender woman recovering from a stroke.
For the party, I chose a bright colored red loose-fitting top paired with flats and my paisley patterned leggings. My makeup was a close shave followed by moisturizer, foundation, lipstick and eye makeup for a change.
The only problem I had was getting my GPS voice navigation to work so I did not have to keep looking down at my phone for directions as I drove on busy highways. Even still, I was able to make it there and back with only three miscues when I needed to turn around. Since my wife is from Cincinati and knows the city well, she normally does all the driving, so I am not used to gathering my courage to do it myself. I was able to calm down and breathe a big sigh of relief when I made it.
My friend is very popular and had a large turnout of around twenty people in the venue she chose. It was her first time out into the world during her recuperation and handled it rather well I thought. Scattered in the group were five or six transgender women who I had not seen in quite a while. It turned out the cisgender woman I ended up sitting next to was very nice and we had a nice conversation with another woman (cis) across the table. I was a little surprised how the conversation never turned to how we all met the birthday woman, but it never did. She took a picture of the two of us, so maybe someday it will turn up so I will be able to pass it along.
All in all, I enjoyed myself and was able to sneak past the crowds to see my friend to drop off a card and gift from Liz and me. I could tell she was struggling with all the interaction, so I was able to say hello and goodbye without any interruptions. I came away from seeing her again with a ton of respect for anyone recovering from a stroke and hopefully soon, we can meet up again on the patio of a restaurant we used to regularly go to. One that even I can find!
