I heard about it all my life, and here it is now - The Change. It came right on time, too - at fifty, when I had confidence issues anyway just by virtue of that number alone. My rebellious hormones decided to kick in a little extra action of their own, I now find.
And it's so cliché. I wake up at night, heart pounding as I rush to throw off the covers / turn on the fan / gulp cold water - anything to banish the night sweats. And can I go right back to sleep? Noooooo. Apparently that luxury is now denied to me; thank goodness for natural sleep aids.
I notice that I am a lot crankier these days too. And I hate it. I want to be the pleasant wife, the nice mother - the one that kids run to and hug. Instead, I find myself yelling like a banshee because my daughter insists on twisting her head from side to side as I try to put her hair up in a ponytail. What will it matter in ten years if she wen to school for one day with her pony askew? I ask you? That makes sense right now, but it didn't at 8:13 this morning. The Daylight Savings Time Change didn't help either.
Let's see. What else? I knew there was something....something to do with memory....
Not to mention the whole unexplained weight gain, which of course is coming out of nowhere. Because of course I exercise just as much and eat vegan. Of course I do!
However, I must say that The Change and that whole fifties thing has lit a fire under my ass. I'm realizing that if I want to accomplish anything, it had better be now. I can't tell myself, oh, I'll write that novel next decade, because the next decade is the sixties. Not the cool Beatles sixties, either.
Age is just a number, and people do amazing things in their fifties, sixties and seventies. Women are beautiful with wrinkles. I prefer men with a touch of gray.
But that night sweat thing is real.
6 comments:
Age is just a number is right. If you don't say anything, nobody will know . .. ;)
Oh, MY! this all sounds just a bit too familiar! I look forward to following your journey :) ...in a co-conspirator sort of way...
So happy to have co-conspirators along for the ride!
It's a huge change. I think about doing some indoor painting (ceilings/walls/trim) and become exhausted just thinking about it!! All that prep work!! And it takes twice as long (now) as what you anticipate!
Menopause has been fairly kind. Nary a night sweat, although I did experience heart palpitations in the past, one of the fringe benefits! Maybe the hot flashes are just waiting for the "right time". I hope not!!
Anyway, I sure as heck don't get nearly as much done as what I used to do. We have two high shelves on opposite walls of our addition where we display various items. Once a year, I'd get up on a ladder and take each item down, wash it, and put it back up. Not to mention vacuum up all the cobwebs and dead bugs while I was up there. Oh, and I'd somehow hold onto the upright vacuum with one hand and the nozzle with the other hand and balance myself while I was on the ladder! This year my 20-year-old son (great help to his parents, BTW) was the balancing act on the ladder and the vacuumer of cobwebs/dead bugs. I washed the various vases, etc., and handed them back up to the next generation to place back on the shelves. I guess I can safely say that I've given up that job, although I do continue to be part of it!! The things we used to do.....
And you guys!!! Don't color your hair!! It's just wrong!! Wrong!!!!!
Hi Alison, Dwight Okita here from ABNA. I came looking to check out your blog. Did you say you have a list of all the ABNAite blogs here?
Also, I'm new to blogging. Does blogger automatically allow responding posts to be visible? I like that. I thought most blogs hid responding posts.
Hi, Dwight!
No, I don't have a compiled list. I've just been going to all the blogspot links from the ABNA boards and following them from Blogger.
And I decided to show all the comments. I chose that option; might switch it later if the comment section gets a bit overwhelming (it's a problem I would love to have!)
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