Somehow I have managed to reach the ripe old age of 48 without ever having blogged. In fact up until a few months ago I didn’t even know what “blogging” was. But after learning about the concept and believing that the quickest way to get old is to stop learning I thought I give it a shot.
So my first blog is going to be about menopause….something that looms on the very near horizon for me. As women we all read about the physical symptoms of menopause but not having experienced these to any significant degree yet, I sit here and wrangle more with the emotional ones. Specifically the end of a big part of my identity, who I have been for the past 30 or so years. A woman in her reproductive years. Don’t get me wrong. I have no more desire to go back in time and have a baby than I do to go back and relive my teenage years. But still…knowing that I can’t ever give birth again, won’t ever breastfeed again and soon won’t ever have my period again..well, sort of fills me with sadness. It is like having to say goodbye to a life long friend who even when they got on your nerves, you would still miss if they weren’t around.
I felt the same way as you did about giving up my period. My reason was the fear that the loss of my mentrual cycle meant the loss of my youth and feminity. For years, from the time my periods began becoming irregular, I avoided losing them through the use of birth control pills, followed by HRT. When the bad news about HRT became public, I gave up the fight and lost my period immediately.
Let me tell you that youth gives way to old age, no matter what we do. As for losing my feminity – that never happened. If we eat right, sleep well, extercise regularlly,take our supplements, and take care of our appearance, we can retain that feminity.
With the loss of our periods and the advent of Menopause, comes other challenges. Check out my blog on the Femmed website for some of the things you might look forward to (or not).