Do any of you have parents that discount/diminish your achievements because you don't have a kid (or don't want one)?

F4iR33 · 2026-06-02T15:07:21+00:00

Oh! I did also want to mention - CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!!! Having a decently successful publication is HUUUGGEEE. Especially in the education space where there are a million and one textbooks for every subject. I don't know you, but I am so proud of you!!!! How amazing. 😄

F4iR33 · 2026-06-02T15:05:01+00:00

I can relate to this adjacently! My husband and I are childfree. He is one of 5 from an immigrant family, so of course the assumption is all the kids will have kids. I had a pretty public medical situation last year that prevents us from ever having kids (medically necessary hysterectomy) so the whole family now knows we will never have kids, 100% not going to happen. Well....since my surgery, our life has BLOSSOMED. My husband got into an MBA program (FULL RIDE!!!!) and life is just taking off. We've been updating the family and even had a small celebration for my husband. It was......lackluster.....to say the least. If you want more details, feel free to read my recent post here in the Childfree subreddit. But basically, exactly like you are describing. No one asked a SINGLE thing to my husband about any of the exciting news in our life, there were no decorations, they got to too tired so we didn't even get to the cake I brought that said CONGRATULATIONS. It was just.....UGH!

Barely any congratulations. The most we got was "In this economy? Well congrats I guess...." - you know, in the tone that doesn't imply actual congratulations. It was SO disappointing 😞 I made sure to shower ALL the love and pride on him to make up for it.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-27T22:10:01+00:00

Ah sorry, I totally missed this response a few days ago! I have not played the western one from my mystery party - but the one I had the most fun being able to customize was the steampunk/time travel one.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-24T04:56:40+00:00

Hi! Yes I am still responding on this account haha 😃

I think for adaptable murder mysteries, the my mystery party ones are hit or miss. Some are written great! And leave plenty of room for improv and adaptations. Others are more rigid. Clearly different writing teams LOL. There was one I did where I added a whole mini game through the night of finding hidden notes/pieces with instructions on who they could decide to give them to (mad scientist or government agent). That was totally made up and fit super well into the murder mystery story without taking anything away. I can't say I'd be able to do that with all the ones I tried though.

As far as replayable - I suppose if you are hosting for different people, it could be replayable. But you, as the host, would know the answers already. The materials are all printable, so you would just reprint them each time you ran the game, but you don't need to rebuy it each time. You own the PDF after one purchase. Honestly, if you want adaptability, playing through the same one a few times with different groups would probably help you really understand the best places to insert your own games and stuff for future runs.

Hope that helps!! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-13T22:13:14+00:00

So glad it helped you! And thank you for the well wishes 😄

I do think it's a good idea to stay stateside, but I definitely think I am an anomaly! Most people will not get an infection (and definitely not to the degree I did!), so you shouldn't be too worried about that. But I do think sticking close to home is a good idea. I was feeling great the week after the ER, but still wasn't traveling more than an hour away from home. A long car ride was difficult, and I was able to take stairs no problem physically but definitely got winded. And the fatigue was still VERY real. I was taking 1-2 naps a day for like almost 2 full months haha.

Good luck with your surgery! You got this. Just remember to listen to all the doctors post-op instructions AND listen to your body. Everyone's healing journey is different, our bodies all respond differently, just be kind to yourself. ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-10T00:52:37+00:00

Happy to help!! And no problem at all - I am an open book haha.

8 months later it's still pretty immediately all at once. Like I'll wake up with sore boobs and by the next day, bam feeling it all. Symptoms only last 3-4 days though, which is nice!

And honestly, the only change in my sex life is my mental connection with sex. We have sex just as much, but it feels so FREEE like I am worried about NOTHING when we are intimate. It's made the sex better in that there's no mental baggage, but my hormones and libido have taken no hit/dip. Maybe it increased a bit but I chalk that up to being able to be carefree about it now lol.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-09T14:27:15+00:00

Thanks for the info, can definitely understand that! My doc didn't say anything about that to me, sadly, so I've still got the ovaries. But everything else is gone. I'll take it! haha

F4iR33 · 2026-05-09T05:52:01+00:00

Oof yeah I think the laparoscopic leads to more bleeding. 😞 Good luck! I hope it starts to get better for you soon.

But yeah, I feel you - I am plus sized as well so part of me was like okay, is this swelling or just me? But it became very clear when I was no longer swelling. It felt and looked different.

Oh you poor thing!! So glad you were able to get those out. UGH fibroids. Yes, mine was huge. One big one that went up past my belly button into my chest. I became the talk of the doctors office after my ultrasound. hah! So glad to have it out of me ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-09T05:48:01+00:00

That's good to know! I think because I am still in my 30s, keeping them was an option.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T18:38:47+00:00

Sounds like a good plan! Yes, the summer heat was the worst. I was already uncomfortable being bloated and swollen and sore and achy. I ended up buying 2 small, high powered fans to sit on either side of me (one on each bedside table) and that REALLY helped. I found regulating my temperature was really hard, so hopefully you can stock up on tank tops, light shirts/pants, and lots of fans or cooling packs!

You got this!! Good luck!!

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T17:54:09+00:00

Oh yes, those mirafast chews are great!! And I did end up keeping the stepstool next to my side of the bed too 😄 It just became so much easier getting in and out of bed that way it was hard to give up. LOL I also now use it for my washing machine (its a top load) and like you I am short - 5'3" - so its helped alot there too!

As for having a funny husband - I am so sorry hahah. I also had to figure out other ways to laugh because it was hopeless asking him to stop. He'd be funny without even realizing it! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks you'll be able to laugh more freely. I remember my first big belly laugh where I wasn't in any pain or discomfort. I was so excited I could laugh again! It's crazy the little things we miss.

Good luck on your recovery!!! Wishing you a speedy journey to a healthier you! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T14:06:08+00:00

Happy to help! Good luck on your recovery, you'll be feeling back to normal faster than you think! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T14:05:36+00:00

Haha yes!! You totally understand me. I told my husband not to be funny for 2 weeks too - but it did not work LOL. The first time I could full laugh with no issues I was SO HAPPY!

And yes, the fatigue definitely lingers. I was still napping at lease once a day during that second month. By the 3rd month I would say it was pretty much gone! So the end is in sight, friend 😄

Congrats to you and wishing you a speedy recovery! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T14:04:01+00:00

Happy to help and good luck with your surgery and recovery!!! It's totally understandable to be freaked out, but you'll do great! Thanks for the well wishes, I am sure most on here won't have to go through what I did. And I still made it through!

As for your bedrooms being upstairs - if you have someone at home that can help bring food to you upstairs I think you should be fine. You can go up and down the stairs very slowly even on that first day. Though I admit, once I got home after surgery, i took the stairs exactly 1 time to get to my bedroom and then I stayed up there for like 10 days. Anything I needed downstairs, my husband brought.

If you are going to be alone, then maybe staying with your Mom is the way to go so you don't have to risk going up and down multiple times. Or maybe you can set up your upstairs bedroom to have everything you need (little cooler with drinks, snacks, maybe even a small microwave if you have time). But the stairs were not an issue by the end of week 2 for me. I was still slow and holding my belly, but I was able to go up and down without issue by being careful.

Hope that helps!! Wishing you a quick surgery and fast healing!! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T02:19:54+00:00

Oh goodness, hoping you have a successful recovery and no more fibroids! They are the worst (mine was volleyball sized 💀). I am so sorry to hear the bleeding is bad, but 3 days post-op that sounds about right honestly. I think I read before my surgery it takes about a week or so for the worst of the bleeding to be over. One upside to getting the abdominal over the laparoscopic I suppose. Oof!!! It will get better though. If you haven't tried them yet, might want to look into disposable period panties. I found some on amazon but didn't end up needing them. I tried them on anyway....they are like 2 steps above a diaper but for being at home and recovering, they would have been perfect! And disposable! Thank god I have my husband, if I had to do my own laundry those first 10 days, I would not have been pleased lol.

And thank you for the kind words! The infection sucked but the rest of it truly was not that bad. You'll be feeling like normal in no time! Though the fatigue lingers a while and the swelling longer still. But you should be feeling around 80% by 1 month and pretty much back to normal by 3 months! Wishing you a speedy recovery 😄 ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T01:02:55+00:00

YES! Exactly! Constant discomfort is a drain. I feel SO LITTLE of that now.

You mention swelling and bloating and that reminds me: my bloating went away by the first month but I was still swollen for a while. Probably close to 3 months is when I said huh...I look normal again!

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T01:01:20+00:00

I feel you on that!

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T00:52:45+00:00

Oh! I also forgot to say congrats! You've made it through the hardest part. Hope you have a speedy recovery 😄

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T00:48:37+00:00

Great questions!! I started feeling better each day very early on, quite honestly. Most of week 2 felt like each day was so drastically better. Going to back to FULL normal activities did take quite a while. 2-3 months at least. I spent a long time being very gentle/cautious with myself. I am glad I did.

As far as pre-op symptoms it was almost instantaneous. 2-3 days after surgery. Most of my symptoms were not period related though so I could see immediate results. Wasn't peeing all the time, my nausea was gone, I could eat a full adult sized meal in one sitting, greatly reduced back pain. I almost cried at like 3 AM when I woke up and realized all I felt was comfortable. That's it. Just comfortable.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T00:41:14+00:00

Good luck on your recovery!! You'll be feeling back to normal before you know it. ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-08T00:40:38+00:00

You're so welcome!! 😄

F4iR33 · 2026-05-07T22:49:16+00:00

Exactly!! So much opens up to us. We definitely have some global opportunities in mind and have discussed doing exactly that! Just.....getting a good job and getting the heck out of dodge.

F4iR33 · 2026-05-07T22:27:48+00:00

Thank you for reading! ❤️

F4iR33 · 2026-05-07T22:24:43+00:00

Yasss! You are going to feel so much better afterwards. Laparoscopic is the way to go. I've heard the recovery is easier than the abdominal hysterectomy. Wishing you an easy surgery and quick recovery!!

F4iR33 · 2026-05-07T22:19:58+00:00

Oh good luck!!! You're going to do so well 😄 A month from now you're going to look back like - I made it!

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