"I'm truly a female, female..."

I wasn't able to get a-blogging yesterday, and now that I have the opportunity to do so, I feel like it's Christmas morning. This is on top of the already awesome news that another veteran player on Team Dana arrived at headquarters this morning: MOLLY! Another high school BFF, on par awesomeness-wise with Katie Whorf, but a completely different kind of awesome...and this one isn't a medical student, so I won't have to hear about renal psychophysiology for a bit. What a revelation! (Katie, I love you.)

Brief story and then I want to get back to spending time with my bestie... So, I got back to Cincinnati yesterday, had a brief pre-op appointment (main idea: all systems are 'go'), and then hunkered down at my grandmother's house. I was thrilled to find a number of fun packages and surprises were waiting for me, and I have plenty to say about that-- but there's one item in particular that warrants attention.

So, my aunt Mary was always a bit of a idol of mine when I was little-- she was always really embracing of the fun aspects of being a girl, and I really love[d] that about her. (She always had a pretty color on her long fingernails, she wore high heels, and perfume, and would let us borrow her lipstick, and it was f-ing heaven when my sisters and I got to see her and just sort of immerse ourselves in girlie minutiae.) Well, Mary had this pair of shoes that were particularly alluring to me as a mini-Dana. They were classic high-heels (like 3 or 4 inches, definitely made the click-click sound on hard surfaces, the whole story), but they were covered with silver sparkles. No, wait. They were covered with silver sparkles. That's what I meant. Apparently I made my feelings about these shoes very clear when I was little...because when I opened up a care package yesterday, there they were, in their original packaging with a note attached from my magical aunt! I mean, GET SERIOUS. The 7-year-old in me has yet to stop jumping up and down or clapping.

Aside from the joy of such a fun and unexpected gesture, this was the perfect thing...I haven't been able to feel like much of a lady lately. I can't do all of the stuff that makes me feel pulled together, and I can't wear irresponsible shoes, and my decreased dexterity has taken a lot of the fun out of being a girl. So, you can bet your ass that as soon as those shoes appeared, the sensible shoes came off, the pants were rolled up, and the sparkle-pumps were donned. Granted, I can't stand in them, walk in them (Dr. T. would lose his f-ing mind), and I can't really even feel my right foot, in any footwear-- still, there's a certain high to be felt when you look at your feet and something pretty is looking back!

I am trying to hunt down proper equipment to record this photographically...stay tuned. Those shoes are un-f'ing-believable, and so is Aunt Mary.