Category: Stressors

‘Mean’opause…or Whatever You Call It

Grab a cup of coffee, ladies. We need to talk. Because nobody told me menopause was going to be this…weird.

I have always considered myself a good little Christian girl and held onto “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28 (NKJV). I used it for moments that were a little stressful or a little hard and explained to myself…yes this is hard but it will be okay in a minute so just hang on. But the Lord thought it would be funny to let me walk into this phase of life…Meanopause, or whatever you call it…where sometimes I want to bark at folks or take off a sock and slowly hand it to them mid-conversation in hopes that the awkward gesture will make them stop talking. So, needless to say, I now have to CLINGGGGG to that verse for dear life. Things that used to be minor inconveniences are now…thanks to Meanopause…COLLASAL.

Apparently, my body has installed its own thermostat, and nobody knows where the damn remote is. I can be perfectly comfortable one minute and five seconds later I’m peeling off layers like I’m escaping a burning building.

Then there’s the memory thing.

I walked into the kitchen recently and had absolutely no idea why I was there. I stood there for a minute, hoping my brain would reboot. It did not. So I ate a stack of Oreos, of course, even though…I’M ON A DIET! Grrrrrr!

Anyhoo…I digress.

Moving right along. Sleep? Yeah, sleep is apparently a luxury now. I can fall asleep beautifully at 9/9:30pm, only to wake up at 3:13 a.m. wide awake, sweating, and suddenly concerned about something I said to a cashier in 2017.

And my patience?

Bless it.

It has left the building.

Things that once mildly annoyed me now make me stare dramatically out a window while whispering, “I need some alcohol.”

And as for my waistline, she has apparently decided we are expanding the property.

And lastly, let’s talk about the hair situation.

Remember when we used to complain about having too much hair to wash, dry, and style? Oh, how innocent we were.

Now I’m inspecting my hairbrush like I’m investigating a crime scene. Every strand on that brush feels personal. My ponytail is getting skinnier, my part is getting wider, and my bathroom lighting has officially become my enemy.

I’m over here researching hair products like I’m studying for a medical degree, hoping one of them will convince my hair follicles to get their act together. Also wondering if the hair products are talking to the wrong damn department…cuz this mustache and chin hair is thrivin’. LOL!!!

But you know what?

If this is the season where I sweat, forget why I walked into rooms, lose my patience, and have to negotiate with my own hair…at least I still have Coffee. Coffee has never let me down! LOL! As for my menopausal game plan, I’ll just keep popping all the supplements and applying all the products. What about you?

~Paula

Get after it!

So many things: see the patients, document, turn in that report, submit that referral, submit that blog post, spend time with your spouse, spend time with your family, exercise, eat right, take your medicine, make time to go to the doctor, buy groceries, put up groceries, cook groceries, clean your house, wash/dry/put up your clothes, clean out the litter box, feed the cats, sleep, take a shower, actually shave your legs, cut the grass, pay the bills, hair appointments, brush your teeth, pluck that damn chin hair, clean out your car, wash your car, clean out that closet, get a dress for the thing on Saturday, check on your friends, go to Pilates, cook a casserole for the thing at church, Aunt Edna is coming for supper Thursday night so grab a lasagna to pop in the oven and finally…smile and wave boys, smile and wave!

(This may or may not be an accurate depiction of me some days!😂)

Are you feeling the pinch of that time crunch? Are you struggling to figure it all out? Have you figured out how to make your 32 hour long to-do list fit neatly into the 24 hours you were given? So many days I have to punt tasks to the next day and whisper to myself in that exasperated little voice “you did your best” or “eh, I’ll get to it tomorrow”. But I often wonder, did I? Did I really do my best? Is this all there is to life; harried tasks, frazzled nerves, frizzy graying hair and increasing wrinkles?

Quite some time ago I read an article on a website depicting how Robert Owen, a Welsh Industrialist and social reformer in the 19th century, was credited with the birth of work/life balance, or at least a very rudimentary version of the concept. The article said that he advocated for shorter hours of work, improved living conditions and more nutritionally sound meals each day that would hopefully improve productivity in the mills and factories. Don’t ask me to cite the article because I can’t. I read it some time last year. I can barely remember details from last week much less what specific article I read last year. So you can chalk this up to weird facts that got stuck in my brain. LOL!!!

I would think that modern day work/life balance suggests that to be a healthy, well rounded member of society…and content…we must balance our rest, work and play time as equally as possible. Eight hours for work; eight hours for leisure; eight hours for rest. That sounds amazing doesn’t it??

If it were only that easy!

If I really dissect my day and try to give myself a score: I definitely work for 8 hours because I enjoy getting paid and paying my bills. We also do fairly well getting in our 8 hours of sleep, going to bed and getting up on a set schedule…so yeah, I’m doing okay there as well. But then there are those 8 hours for leisure. Am I getting that? (Typing paused, blank stare ensued that went all the way to outer space and suggested that no one was home, came back to reality–started typing again.) When the typing paused (LOL!) I realized that even when I sat on the back porch in a rocker, I often ruminated on next steps for a case at work, or a project I needed to accomplish at home. Well damn. THAT’s not true leisure! So maybe my leisure time is what I need to work on the most. I definitely get my work and sleep hours in. But leisure? Why is Leisure so difficult? I’d be willing to bet it is a point of struggle for most of us.

(Our lovely red rockers! And btw, do you recognize that mug?!)

I Googled ‘leisure’ and after listing the definition, Google provided some example sentences depicting “free time to do something enjoyable”. Ironically, one of the example sentences used the phrase “writers with enough leisure to practice their art”. I audibly snorted! Point taken. I hear ya Google. I’m obviously a writer with NOT enough ‘leisure’ to practice my art. LOL! I mean, jeeze, have you seen how many blog posts happened in 2018 vs now? Basically crickets. LOL!!!

Anyhoo, as you sip your next few cups of coffee, (because trust me it will take that long) take some time to reflect. How are you doing with your work/life balance? Are you going to bed early enough? Are you using your time wisely at work so you can be done in a reasonable amount of time? Are you being intentional setting up your leisure time? Let me hear from you! Hopefully you scored better than me! ~Paula