Like Fine Wine ...

©

Every single word, verse, poem, prose, etc. within The Tea Room (unless otherwise stated) was written by Brenda Dwyer and is protected and copy written.

Do not copy, reproduce or otherwise share this content without express permission by the author. 2008/2009

like fine wine ...

Cherish the time you are given in this life.
Strive to truly LIVE every moment.
Cultivate love and bask in your reward.
Take time to listen to even the smallest of voices,
see the tiniest of wonders,
smell the faintest of roses ...

-bd

One more excuse not to do Yoga.

The day you realize ... you are becoming your mother.

OK PEOPLE ... LISTEN UP!!! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!!! WHY DOESN'T ANYONE EVER TELL YOU THAT WHEN YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE YOUR BODY TAKES OVER AS YOUR BRAIN TAKES A BACK SEAT???

It's true ... no one tells you. You hear the dreaded term "menopause" and you think that you're going to die if you even have to whisper the word. Why the secrecy? Why all of the dread? While it may indeed be true that menopause, pre-menopause and all of the other pauses (and oddball terminology) in your life associated with this inevitable period of insanity lend themselves to scare the socks right off of us it really isn't all that hard to understand or ENDURE. Okay, let me just qualify that last statement ... I thought I was about to the end of my rope trying to endure whatever "pause" I am in right now but I had a reality check that reminded me that it's not that bad.

Sure, there are days that I have to stay inside real close to a bathroom (if not just bedded down in it) due to more (pardon my bluntness here) blood being purged from my body than I dare to measure. There are worse things to have to endure! So what if I get cramps when I never used to? So what if my clots are all bigger than a silver dollar? So what if I feel just a wee bit exhausted and spent after a 7 to 10 day bout of mega bleeding when I know I will have it to look forward to in another 4-16 days (its anyone's guess)? So what! I survive it every time and I consider it a small inconvenience when I find myself at an age where my friends are in dialysis or chemo or any one of a number of other painful and grueling schedules of this procedure or that ... this medication or that. I don't take any meds, am pretty doggone healthy (although a bit overweight) and am getting sassier as I age. (Lord, please help me!) There are MANY women who share in this same experience in my own small circle ... I can't even fathom how many of us have this same experience worldwide. I have sat down in circles of female doctors and nurses who all concur that it is a woman's obligation to be in tune with her own body. Doctors can not diagnose what is not blatantly obvious (at least to you) unless you explicitly explain everything that brought you to the very seat you're sitting in when in front of them. They are not mind readers nor can they detect internal problems without an external explanation. There are doctors who will just encourage you to "take it all out" and begin a regimen of hormone replacement therapies. You are the only person who can decide what is right for YOU. Right now, I find myself willing to put up with this "pause" that keeps me tethered to home ... it's kind of a nice break from the many commitments I felt tethered to outside of the home previously. I have gotten really good at scheduling in fun stuff to do as soon as I know I am going to have at least 4 days of freedom coming up!

Life is wonderful girls, with all of its ups and downs ... it all comes down to attitude ... and perhaps moodiness but hey ... give us a break ... this hormonal stuff is pretty tricky!!!

(The next time your husband looks at you as if he'd rather commit you than talk to you ... just point your index finger at him and shake it side to side ... it's a very scary tactic and it's a great silencer because they have no idea what it means).

Mystery is our dearest comrade during this time of "pause" and yet it is (somehow) also our biggest betrayer.

Just spend more time on your knees in prayer ... God really does "get it" and it makes it all so much more tolerable.

Please, send me your stories of "pause" and we can all share in this wonderfully scarey (and yet eventually liberating) time together!

so there she was ... staring at her reflection in the mirror and it dawned on her ... she had finally come into "her own" ah ... bliss! -bd

Menopause ... It's a wild ride! -bd