So much has happened over the last few days that I just haven’t had the time or the energy to keep my blog up to date so I sincerely apologise for that! Firstly there was Thursday when I received the certificate for my official name change, it was a strange moment when I opened the little door on the PO box, there were 2 letters inside and I was expecting a large one with the certificate in but in reality it was just a normal size envelope but when I looked at the name on it a really strange feeling came over me, I gripped Denise’s hand very hard, my first mail addressed to Stephanie Vaughan! We hurried back to the car and set off home as we had Jessie and Anna coming round for morning tea and didn’t want them arriving at our house and us not be there, I asked Denise to open the letter as I was driving home and it was indeed my certificate! A warm feeling came over me as I realised it was one of the major steps completed. The certificate itself is a bit brief to say the least, not sure what I expected but I suppose it says all it needs to say and at last I am officially Stephanie Rachael Vaughan. Morning tea was a particularly lovely occasion and included a gorgeous chocolate cake and some very pleasant bubbles to go with it along with some beautiful conversations with two beautiful young ladies whom I feel very privileged to have in my life.
Next came Friday, the start of preparations for my stepping out party but not before our visits to the gorgeous Linny for pedicures, eyelash tinting and eyebrow shaping and tinting, how I love having my feet pampered! It’s just the best and most relaxing thing, add to that the none stop conversation with Linny and you have the recipe for a gorgeous 2 hours. The whole eyes thing is of course all new to me but as I am not very proficient with the mascara it makes life much easier, the silly thing is if I had known about the whole eyelash tinting thing I would have started having them done years ago as my eyelashes have been clear for years and virtually impossible to see. Anyway it all adds up to being a beautiful experience!
On arriving home it was a quick change as the start of the transformation of our outdoor area for the party was due to start around 1pm with the arrival of Chris And Alisha with the marquee, followed by Alison who soon knocked us into shape and pointed us in the right direction for assembling the said marquee. This turned out to be a fairly easy job, it fitted perfectly in position and after a small fabrication job was secured in position, side walls fitted and the whole thing is taking shape in time for the big do tomorrow. The outdoor area was emptied in preparation for the furniture arriving Saturday morning and I’m getting excited.
Saturday morning arrives and this is the big day, I’m a little nervous to say the least, there will be people at the party I have not seen for some time, lots who have not seen me fully Stephanised as you might say and most of the guests have not seen me since I came back from Philadelphia so won’t know what to expect, also I planned to make a speech, a speech I wrote while we were still in the recovery suites in Ardmore after my surgery and I have to say, I have revisited it more times since than I care to remember as I have thought about saying different things adifferent orders but at the same time I am excited. The furniture arrived at the arranged time and was duly unloaded and the job of setting up began. Straight away I was concerned that there was too much seating and the place soon looked too fussy and crowded, I voiced my opinion and some rearranging was done, some bits removed and I was happier.
In the afternoon it was another visit to Linny’s beauty spot for makeup hair and nails, nails first then to Linny’s very talented daughter Megg for my hair, I am literally blown away watching as my hair is carefully styled like never before, Megg you are a miracle worker, I am so impressed, I go back in the where Linny was doing Denise’s makeup and they too are blown away, I just love it, so much volume and style like never before, just amazing! Makeup was next and another transformation takes place, I’m starting to think people won’t even recognise me anyway at the party. By the time I get home the caterers have arrived and things are really taking shape, the outdoor area is looking perfect, bar stocked, punch made and decorations in place, the only slight down side is that it is cold so the patio heater was lit and all would soon be good.
By the time people start arriving I have completed my look, even put in my earrings which after 5 weeks of being absent I thought there was no way the holes are still going to be open but in they went and I was very happy.
The whole night was perfect, my speech could have been better as I missed bits out and got things a little out of order but I don’t think anyone noticed so all went well. Once again I am struck by the amount of love and support given not just to me but Denise as well, after all this whole journey has almost been as difficult for her as me as it was Denise who had to do most of the organising, all the driving over in the States and be responsible for me while I was under the weather. Also she had the most difficult job of worrying about me while I was asleep being worked upon during the surgery, after all, I only had to turn up and go to sleep, Denise was the one answering all the questions, getting help when I needed it and the one there when I was having issues of any kind. All in all a beautiful occasion, I felt very special, I was truly honoured that my GP joined us, it gave me an opportunity to thank her for the amazing way she has looked after me and continues to do so, I know an arranment of flowers is a very small gesture for all she has done for me but I think it was appreciated even if I was temporarily in trouble for doing it! I had thought going on previous days that by 9pm I would probably be struggling to stay awake but I think I was running on adrenaline as I managed to stay awake all night and didn’t hit the sack until probably 12.30am and when I did go to sleep it was with a very warm glow inside me knowing we have so many beautiful friends.