Nirvana

By Sherry Greer

One of the definitions of the word Nirvana is to be in a state of perfect happiness; an ideal or idyllic place. I recently experienced such a perfection.

Have you ever had an experience that was so amazing you never wanted it to end? I hope many of you have had such an experience. Over the weekend of January 27-29, 2023 I had three days of Nirvana! It started in the later afternoon on that Friday. I got home earlier than expected from out of town and decided to call up a dear friend who has done my nails before to get a French manicure. I was going to do my own nails when I arrived home as well as prepare for the upcoming two days but the extra time allowed for more girl time. My wife was out of town so I had the house to myself. I got ready in just over an hour which is amazingly quick for me and wore jeans, a very casual top, and comfy boots with fur coming out the top of them that my wife bought me as a surprise. I arrived at the salon about 6pm just as it was closing, my friend made special arrangements to stay there later just for me. That was very nice on her part! After getting my nails done I came home to get ready for Saturday. On the way home my wife called and I told her about my nails, she said to send her a picture of them when I got home which I did and she liked them!

Upon arriving home I got everything ready for the grand opening of the Darlafoxx Bridal store. Through Kandi, whom I owe this entire experience to-love you BFF, I was able to participate in this event. I packed extra makeup, three pairs of shoes, multiple colored bras, extra change of clothes for going out after the show, and a few miscellaneous other things. The night flew bye and I awoke early to shave again and put on foundation and get dressed in a casual outfit. I met Kandi at a nearby shopping center and we drove together to Tower City (a mall in Cleveland) where the store is located.

We arrived at the store just before 10am, there was another model waiting as we approached and the hair and makeup people arrived soon after. More models arrived and we soon were let into the store in which time the HMUA’s got right to setting up to start working their magic! I was excited beyond words to have this done. I’ve had a couple others but never to model. I sat down with two other women to start. I did my own foundation because of the few extra steps most of us have to do to cover our beards. There were 5 artists working on us, they were students from a local cosmetology school. It took over an hour for them to finish and the girls were amazing, took their time, and really wanted to do a wonderful job. As they worked all of us were talking about multiple subjects and I fit right in as any woman would. After makeup was done I went to another room to get my hair done! One of the students who was doing makeup wanted to do my hair so she followed me in! Since I had my wig on she used a round brush and a hair dryer to style my hair. She actually was giddy with excitement when she was done.

I was now ready to get my dress with a few other models. It was amazing how well Darlene could just look at us and pick a dress that fit me almost perfectly! She first picked out a dress with virtually no back but I couldn’t wear it because my bra would show. She then gave me the dress that I did wear. I loved the off the shoulder look and it was corseted in the back. Kandi and I helped each other get dressed but she couldn’t get the back tight enough so another woman had to help so it fell correctly in the back. I actually had to have someone put my shoes on because I couldn’t bend down! Looking in the mirror for the first time was incredible, I saw a beautiful woman, I wanted to cry!

We were upstairs in her store and as we were waiting for everyone, we took pictures, talked and practiced! I met so many wonderful women and ALWAYS felt like one of them. We finally lined up and I became nervous because we had to walk down about 20 stairs. Fortunately I was okay and gracefully walked down without incident. After everyone was done walking we all went into the mall and took pictures as a group. The event wrapped up and Kandi and I changed into our casual clothes and went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the entire day and how much I felt like a queen! I was going to go out on my own after being dropped off by Kandi but fortunately I went home to get ready for yet another amazing day.

I woke up early to again shave (I really hate doing it, I think I would love to get electrolysis or something similar). I was the HMUA today so I got ready to pick Kandi up at the same store as yesterday to get across town by 9am. I again wore very casual clothes because I knew I would be moving things around and it wouldn’t be very practical to do so in heels and a dress. It is amazing of my mental transition. I used to think that I had to dress to the nines to be feminine but I now feel more sexy and feminine in a casual outfit with jeans and a nice top. I’m so happy that I feel that way! Don’t get me wrong, I certainly love putting a dress on with 3″ stiletto’s! Today we helped a friend to set up her wedding event. Kandi also modeled dresses in this show and I helped behind the stage getting the models zipped and unzipped! Barb, the organizer, had us helping the vendors get to their places to set up their displays. We also helped the designer bring in all the gowns. As it got closer to the start of the show I went and changed into a sweater dress that my wife also bought for me! Of course Kandi and I took pictures before she got into her dress for the show. It made me SO happy that both the designer and organizer both said that I will be in the next show. The designer said that if she knew I was coming to this one I could have walked for her!

After the show we helped clean up some before saying our goodbyes. Driving home was bittersweet. I reflected on the amazing weekend and the 100% acceptance that I experienced but was saddened by the fact that it was coming to an end. Not quite sure why but taking off the nail polish is always the hardest… To me, life is about the relationships that you create and, thanks to Kandi, I have started to create those relationships in the fashion industry.

In closing, I again want to thank Kandi for the weekend and the 5+ years ago answering an email asking to help some lost guy turn into a princess 🤗. You are an amazing person BFF!

Stay beautiful-Sherry

Sher, you owe me exactly zero. This is what I do, I strive to help others so in that regard you are no different than anyone else to me. In other regards, I value our friendship very much! Your joy was obvious and made me extremely happy.

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I’ll now be suggesting purchases for those of you that like to shop. I have just invested quite a bit of money into some upcoming changes here and I have to pay for them somehow (no, really…..). I purchased this great fleece vest, which was featured in recent a post.

Click here to find this bargain!!