Rites of Passage — The Menopause Chronicles
Navigating the path less-spoken
Menopause and you
Menopause is a rite of passage for every female alive. If you live long enough, “the change” will come.
Today I shed some light on this delicate topic. Since the dawn of time, aging and health issues of women have never been a priority.
Menopause has been on my mind (and body) and I have been cerebrating on writing this article.
Time to talk and write about the “change”.
We need to be more open about the joys, pains, and ultimately the blessings of aging according to me.
Let me preface this by saying, I am certainly grateful to be alive and wish to live to a ripe old age. It is my prayer that I will have a long healthy life until I bow out in a due season.
We have seen younger days
I am grateful for things past, but alas, we must trudge onward no matter the tide.
Now that I have reached the middle of the road, so to speak, and have recently begun walking this path, I feel compelled to say a few things I wish I had been privy to.
I thank God for every moment of this journey thus far.
The road to growing old is filled with what appears to be, at least from my vantage point, lots of bumps, and many potholes along the way.
Suddenly it seems that when I look in the mirror there is this person with whom I am not familiar-looking back at me.
The changing tides
Where am I, I wonder.
Who is this creature with a vague resemblance I see here?
Surely this can't be me?
I often feel the urge to lie on the floor and have a tantrum. I am up to my neck in uncharted waters and I am barely treading to stay afloat.
And to add insult to injury I cannot swim!
Other days I feel like a bad-ass bitch and want to say, “hey menopause, get here already”!
I remember when I was young, my mother would fan herself constantly. I would find her standing in front of the refrigerator, and doing things that I thought were so odd.
I had asked her several times, what on earth is the matter, why are you doing this? But she never really gave me an answer.
Back in South America, we have an adage that says; ‘piglet asked, “mommy why is your mouth so long? The mother just smiled and said, “ah daughter your time is coming”.
Well “my time” had just made a touch down!
The heat is on
So here we are.
A few years ago I was sitting at work one day and I felt this ‘furnace’ rise from within.
I dismissed it as I had always been a person who is always hot and usually dripping sweat during the summer months.
The same scenario repeated itself a few times before the light bulb went off!
Oh dear God no! Could this be? No, surely not! I’m still too young my mind wailed!
Acceptance…or something like it
And so it came to be that I had begun the next phase of my journey, albeit without any input from me at all (sigh).
I was being taken along for a wild ride. I could not get off the train as it barreled toward a destination I did not request.
I had heard that “menopause was not for sissies” and whoever penned those words needs a medal.
You feel as if your body is betraying you.
Nothing works the way it should and you are left defunct. Your body is a mess and everything appears to be a fast exodus down south.
Brain fog, dry skin, hanging belly, graying hair, vitamin deficient and so much more…
Final thoughts
Menopause remains a taboo topic. Many seem ashamed or hesitant to join in the conversation. We are reluctant to be perceived as getting older.
I wish I had been given some clues on what to expect.
As a teen, we get “the talk” on what to expect, but no one prepares us for menopause.
Not our mothers, our health care providers, and certainly not our society.
Why is this change of life such a taboo subject?
The issues pertaining to menopause are largely swept under the rug.
Society would be a lot happier that once we are past our prime we should be put out to pasture.
When we can no longer bear children, we should slink quietly into a corner and just shut up.
Unfortunately, the women of this day, refuse to quietly fade into nothingness.
We are out and we want to be heard.
We need to talk about life at every stage.
We must educate ourselves and each other about how to live our best lives.
To make that a reality, we must bring the issues to the forefront.
And we must have dialogue.
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Pene Hodge is a mom, a nurse, a writer. She writes because she must. She loves people and is committed to sharing and gleaning knowledge for the betterment of all.
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