That being said, I have found that for perhaps the first time in my life I really do enjoy getting out of the house by myself. Yesterday was a good example of that. I had an appointment with Dr. Swenson who handles my HRT. Initially I was seeing her every 3 months, but we had settled into every six month visits since my dosages were stable and I was doing well. I normally schedule her appointments on Tuesday or Wednesday as that way if J's schedule doesn't allow her to go with me, then I know M will be off and can go. It's not that I "need" somebody to go with me, but it is a 90 minute drive each way and it's nice to have company. Plus, Columbia is a nice college town and if I have somebody with me, we'll usually have lunch or dinner and/or do some shopping up there.
This particular time I had chosen a Tuesday afternoon at 4pm which means I needed to leave about 2pm so I'd have some cushion in case of traffic/etc. J's rotation was such that she had to work, so I had assumed M would go. However, we had an issue with the front door (it was replaced a few months ago) and she scheduled them to come out yesterday morning. Coupled with the fact that she does work overnights and Monday night was a work night for her there was no way she'd be up for the trip so I ended up going myself.
Since Columbia is off of Interstate 70 and we live very close to 70, it's really an each drive and at that time of day traffic was light. I had grabbed my iPod and plugged it into the car stereo and the trip went very quick and I was up there about 30 minutes early. I actually got taken back right on time - I will say that is one thing I appreciate about Dr. Swenson and the clinic up there - they are almost always right on time, and even nicer, once you go back she's ready for me as soon as the nurse gets my vitals and I don't sit there for 10 or 20 minutes waiting. As much as I love my regular GP, I definitely can't say the same about them.
The other thing I really like about her is that it's not a "rushed" visit ever. I think I was back there about 25 minutes or so, which was a bit longer than normal, but we were going over my ER/Hospital visit from a couple of months ago and then we spent some time discussing my medications, including potentially adding Progesterone to the mix after I get my blood work done again. She actually brought that up which surprised me a bit since I'm at nearly two years HRT now (23 months) - but assuming my labs are clean I figured it was worth trying; although if it brings on the moodiness I've read about so many others having with it, J might not think it's such a good idea. :)
I had initially planned on heading straight back home afterwards since I was alone, but I was feeling good and decided that there was no reason I shouldn't have some fun while I was out. So I went and had some lunch - fast food as I was starving and wanted to eat *right then* - and that was a pleasant experience. I even managed to remember to try and use the "girl voice" - which is something I often forget to do when I'm out by myself. I may or may not have been read - nobody seemed to give me any undue attention, but it is a college town and I was eating near the clinic and they do deal with a fair amount of trans-women/men there so it may have simply been that it's simply not out of the ordinary for a trans-woman to come in. Regardless it was a pleasant lunch - though it would have been more fun to have had somebody to talk to.
From there I actually did a little shopping, I only ended up finding a couple of small things I liked (a scarf and a necklace), but it was nice to be able to browse at my own speed for a change. Again, I love shopping with J and/or M, but sometimes I feel rushed when I'm with them, and while they are both trying to help they often tend to focus on things for me and I'd rather they were looking for themselves - so without them I could focus on myself. I would have liked to have spent some more time up there, but I did have a prescription for some pain medicine that was a "hard copy" and I wanted to get it back to the pharmacy in town and get it filled so I headed back sooner than I wanted to. The drive back was a bit busier and in the dark, but it always goes quick coming back. Once I got back into town I ran into Wal-Mart to get my prescription filled - I elected to wait since they said about 30 minutes, so I browsed the store for a bit. I normally avoid that store since it's the one by the house where M/M2/P work and where J worked before her promotion. I don't think I had been into that one since I started my transition - with the exception of the visit J and I made a few weeks ago when she was doing her store visits. And that day we were in there looking at specific things about the store and I really didn't get to just look around. I didn't really find anything I liked - which surprised me as I often do when I hit a Wal-Mart, but it was nice again to just look around. I will say the ladies room in the back could have used a cleaning, but otherwise it was another pleasant experience.
Once J got home, she and I ran and got something for her and M's dinner - I was still full from lunch and really too tired to cook as I had planned. It was nice having some time with her, but I wouldn't have traded the day out by myself for anything. I need to do those kinds of things more often - not at the expense of my time with J and/or M, but in addition to. It was a confidence booster and really almost therapeutic for me and that's always a good thing.
I do have some pictures of my outfit, but they are on the camera and I left that in the car, so I guess I'll save those for another post and instead I'll use a picture of the fish tank from the Doctor's office for today's thumbnail. :)
- M
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