You don't sound like a pussy. You sound like a guy who's had an invasive surgical op and would like to avoid another one.
I had a dual orthoscopic mesh repair and was told to start lifting when I felt like it with the sole restriction, "Stop if anything hurts". Pretty good advice, that. I think he was a crossfitter. Surgery was on a Thursday, I was lifting lightly on the very next Tuesday, and was able to squat again 13 days post op.
What *you* do depends on the type of repair and how you feel mostly. I think going back to "just the bar" is probably a little far. Hit LP like you would as a novice but make bigger jumps.