39-yr-old Doing Something for Myself After 2 Kids and a 93-lb. Weight Loss! Fort Wayne, IN

I am excited, nervous, etc. because my surgery date is in FOUR DAYS (yay!)! I'm having several procedures done at once: a circumferential tummy tuck, a full breast lift (no implants), a brachioplasty, and some contouring lipo (including inner/outter thighs and inner knees). I'm anxious about the surgery because I've never been "put under" for anything before, and this will be a 6-hour operation! However, fears aside, I've wanted this for a long, long time, and am thrilled it's happening at last! After two babies and a 93-lb. weight loss, my birthday suit resembles a lumpy, melting snowman with stretch marks (how's that for imagery? Ha!)! I will post before and after pics later, but for now, I just want to ramble and rant a bit; is that okay? See, on top of all of the normal anxiety-laden thoughts and feelings a person goes through prior to an operation, I'm dealing with some extra "stuff" that I don't feel is fair. I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced being judged/looked down upon by friends and family for their choice to have cosmetic surgery? Here I am, all excited about what is a very big deal to me, and I have no one to talk to about it (gush to), because everyone around me sees my choice as "superficial", "unnecessary", "fake", "selfish"... (the list of unflattering adjectives goes on and on). I have heard every lecture you can imagine from well-meaning loved ones who have begged me not to go through with the surgery. I even had one person tell me, "I just have a bad feeling that you're going to die on the operating table."! Gee...thanks for that. Not like I'm not already terrified or anything. My dad even made a passive-aggressive remark about how "some people care more about what's on their insides than their outsides"! I am hurt and insulted by the "tsk-tsking" and head shaking. I am not a [RS bleep] who lacks a brain or personality. I have done my research and made an educated decision. I understand there are risks, but there are risks in much of what we do on a daily basis. This decision also has some potentially amazing benefits! I simply want to feel more confident in my skin. I don't see that as a bad thing. And regarding the whole "beauty comes from within" bit, I agree, but why can't it radiate from both inside AND outside? Does it really have to be an either/or proposition? There's a saying about "walking a mile in someone else's shoes"; all I can think is that none of these people have ever felt the emotional/mental pain that comes with living in a body they are embarrassed in. Some disfigurements cannot be exercised away. While my heart is broken from all the judgmentalness (is that a word? lol), I stand by my decision, and I will walk into that surgery center on Tuesday, even if it means I'm dragging 10 people clinging to my ankles as I do so. I love my friends and family, but I love myself, too, and I'm not willing to forgo my happiness to appease others' insecurities.