My Menopause Diary

By Holly Flowers

This book contains many stories and reflections about the life experiences of a middle aged woman walking through her time of menopause. The term menopause is used in a generic way, not a scientific one. It refers to a time when your body, your thoughts, your life begins to change. This change prompts reflection as one heads into their final stage. Reflection is good, as it helps us get things straight so we can continue to morph into that woman we always wanted to be. The hope is that this book will help you along that journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483564449

Book preview

GNT

THIS BODY

What is with this body? I did not order this. I am sure I placed an order for a leaner, well-portioned body. I had a glimpse of it once when I was younger. My body measurements were in somewhat of a symmetrical shape; bigger numbers on the top and bottom with a nice size waist in the middle. And even as my age numbers kept increasing, I occasionally saw it just around the corner. Teasing me with promises of being able to comfortably cross my legs, or no longer shopping in the Big and Tall Dept. But now, the dam has opened up so to speak. I have bulges where I never had them before. I am the new queen of the muffin top. And that is not a new dessert offered at Baby Cakes! My arms have spread as though they were making room for massive wings that will take me away from this menopausal life. Why does God allow such awfulness? We spend our youth taking care of something or someone: kids, pets, parents, friends. And what is our reward for all this selflessness? Menopause…really?!

Being a mother, I can say that I have suffered through body changing experiences. With my first pregnancy, I was amazed at what my body was doing. It seemed impossible that my body could stretch enough to allow a baby to reside there. But lo and behold it did, and I have the stretch marks to prove it. My feet swelled and I gained a shoe size. My breasts expanded to the point of being painful. Having to take those massive pre-natal pills was a pain. And the hormones…oh the hormones! If you wanted to catch me in a certain mood, all you had to do was wait around a bit. It would surely come around any minute.

But just as the saying goes that we start in diapers and we end up in diapers, so is young motherhood to menopause. Your body stretches in ways you never thought possible. If you eat too much salt, just wait around for your ankles to swell.. And your breasts are on a reverse trajectory. Really, this is taking the word saggy to new heights. My medicine cabinet has expanded exponentially since giving birth. Vitamins with iron, fiber, vitamins C & E for brain health, folic acid and other medicines just for my diabetes. I help keep my local pharmacy going. And those nasty hormones are back. It’s like having PMS every day of the month. You cry about this, you get mad about that. Occasionally my husband just hides. I would too!!

So what is a poor, muffin topped, saggy breasted, pill popping, extremely moody 50 something supposed to do? Well, to state the obvious, let’s get real with ourselves. We are not in our twenties anymore. We do not naturally have lean and light bodies. We are changing. Our bodies are changing. So we, therefore, must change. Guess what ladies, we don’t need as much food as we used to consume. Our metabolism is slowing. It takes longer for our bodies to process our food intake. If we give it too much then the scale will tip. Figuratively and literally. We need to go back to nutrition 101. Eat healthy. Eat balanced. Eat less. And we are not too old to exercise. We do try and tell ourselves that at times. I’m so tired from work, or babysitting, or whatever. I just want to sit. We all say it. But if we’re getting real, we all know that’s just poo. We can go for a walk, or swim, or run, or play a sport, or work on a machine. Many of these things take no money. They do take time. But hey, we’re older now, we have more time choices than we did when we were younger. Remember, we spend time on what is important to us. Is feeling strong and healthy important to you?

Sirach 33:13

Just as clay is in the potter’s hands for him to shape as he pleases, so we are in the hands of our Creator for him to do with as he wishes.

EMPTY NEST

Time. Time is such a strange thing. We complain about not having enough of it. Then we complain because there is too much. We never seem to get it just how we want it. When I was a teenager, time went fast because I always seemed to be busy. The busier you are, the faster time gets away from you. My teenage years progressed into college. As though college wasn’t hectic enough, I added a husband and two boys. (It was kind of like three boys!)