I don’t have a specific date yet (getting it at Dec 11 appt) but was told Dec 21 would be a possibility or the 26-28. I would like to have both holidays worked into my vacation days from work (25, Jan 1) so getting it on the 21st is appealing. Plus, not many people know I’m getting it so it will be less noticeable that I’m not working over the holidays.

On the other hand, I love going to Christmas Eve service at my church with my family and I’ll still need to cook a few items for Christmas dinner. No way of knowing if I’ll be up to doing either of these things.

What are others thoughts about these dates?

Well, you will be on liquid diet on Christmas Eve which would be equally unappealing to me. I'd go for Dec. 21 and go to your service and do the stuff for and with your fam, and deal with post op liquid diet rather than pre-op liquid diet horror! LOL.

And you gotta just go in with a "super trooper" attitude determined to hydrate like a beast and walk walk walk so that you heal with minimal discomfort. And don't give in to feeling like crap and full of pain from the surgery. I think a lot of how we do post op is our attitude going in and our willingness to be a beast post-op with the things we HAVE to do to heal well and easily.

I think it is completely reasonable to skip out on your usual cooking related obligations or attending events a few days after surgery. Don't feel bad saying that you can't do it this year. You can cook the stuff now and freeze it, or you can get those dishes from a restaurant to contribute. You are having major surgery, and it is perfectly fine to take time for yourself right now. I am realizing more and more that a major contributing factor to my obesity was always putting others first.

If it were me, I'd do the earlier date. I was pretty weak and tired during my pre-op liquid diet, so I wouldn't have been able to cook for Christmas then, either. Is there anything you can pre-cook now and freeze? Teach your friend/significant other/kids/whoever you're cooking for how to cook it and then supervise on the day its cooked? Or just bow out and say someone else needs to do it. We don't need to be superwoman every holiday just because that's what we've always done - sometimes it is time to take time for you.

Hard to tell about services, though. If someone else was driving me and it wasn't midnight mass, I likely could have made it that soon after surgery, but it wouldn't have been pleasant.

Thanks everyone! They actually called back and said they have an opening on the 14th so I took it! Hopefully I will feel ok by Christmas and if not my husband can do the cooking. He’s very supportive and perfectly capable. I just enjoy it and really don’t want to miss it. I may feel differently when I can’t eat any of it[emoji23]