Afterglow

The party was everything I hoped for.  It nourished my soul.

As a social event, the party was a huge success.  There were ten female guests, half of whom knew me but nobody else.  All were warmly welcomed, engaged in friendly conversation, and treated like royalty.  Every single guest felt like she had made a room-full of new friends.

The guests were from a wide variety of backgrounds and a range of ages.  All were lively and interesting.  Everyone was in a great mood and entertained by the others' company.

Thanks to Jamie and Nicole, the party had a comfortable environment in Jamie's spacious living room.  The room had enough seating for everyone to gather together and enjoy a circle of conversation.  There were endless trays of delicious food, starting with hot hors d'oeuvres and progressing to sweet desserts.

Each guest made a special effort to look nice and deserved the compliments copiously flowing.

The party, for me, was an amazing success.  In the leadup to the event, I was afraid to hope for what actually happened because I wasn't sure I'd ever experience this in my lifetime.  I was accepted.  I was simply and profoundly accepted.  The question of my gender melted away and I was treated as a person, a full and equal participant in the company of other women.  The separateness that has plagued me my whole life -- due to others' inability to see me as female -- disappeared.  Without fanfare or comment, I was just accepted as another female guest -- a status I felt at my core.  I felt serene and deeply relaxed.

This achievement goes beyond anything I've ever experienced before.  It was truly a dream come true.

Dozens of photos were taken but not by me; when I receive them, I'll share them with you.  I made numerous delightful observations, of people's clothing and behavior which I'll share with you later, as well as noting my own experiences which are certainly familiar to you, such as the ache from wearing high heels for hours.  I was hyper-aware, every second, of every detail of the evening and soaked them all in; I'll be thinking and processing these observations for weeks.

For those of you who joined us here, thank you.  I hope you felt included.  You are part of my development as a person and I wanted to share this significant event with you.  Big hugs!