Embrace This

Cheryl spent the afternoon with me for my birthday! It was a beautiful Indian summer day, and we took full advantage of the weather. We went for a walk, strolled around the yard, and hit the porch swing for a bit.

During our conversation while she was fixing her own lunch (on a diet with no gluten whatsoever, for health reasons), she looked at me intently and said, "This is one thing about menopause that I am embracing." I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked. Her reply was something to this effect:  "Forgetting. Because of some hormone lacking in my body because of this change of life, I forget things. You know that mantle of responsibility that I have loathed for my entire life? Now, it's not my fault if I forget, and things don't work out. It's something that just happens that's beyond my control. I just say, 'It couldn't be helped.' "

I'm not to the point where I'm embracing this yet, as I still find it frustrating when I mess up some plan because I forgot an important something. This is, however, something I recognize as a jewel well worth storing on a mental shelf for use at some future time when I can--and will--indeed hug it full-on.

Power Surges

A speaker once referred to her hot flashes are power surges. Accurate enough when I think of how electronics can get fried as a result of one of those.

I can feel one coming on. It starts in my core and works its way outward. It feels like an internal algae bloom.

Night sweats have me throwing off the covers, then the light sweat makes me cold, so I pull them on again. That's not happening as much anymore (PTL!), but often enough to mention them.

Cheryl had a 75 year-old lady tell her that she still has hot flashes. Cheryl's eyes got big, and she was filled with dread. Me too.

I wear a zippered hoodie during the day so I can easily take it off when the need arises. What I don't understand is why I never seem to have one when I'm freezing and really need the heat. Oy.