Yesterday, after a discussion group on Dying Well (because I want to, and our baby did), I found myself in our local cafe with three older women. Just as we began to share our thoughts on the morning’s group, ordering our lattes and teas, one of the women suddenly waved the waitress over with great urgency for some water. Her face was pink and glistening and she seemed bothered.
“Hot flush?” one of the other women asked sympathetically.
“Yes, a real strong surge,” she replied.
I felt awkward - these women belonged to a club that I was not a part of, but would one day join.
Rather shyly I asked, “What does it feel like?”
And then I had the most amazing experience: each of the women shared what hot flushes felt like for them. Prompted by my tentative questions, they then talked about their experience of menopause. The stories they told of the transformative effect it had had in their lives made it suddenly sound very appealing - and I’d been rather dreading the loss of my reassuring cycle, the mood swings, the sleeplessness, and hot flushes.
I felt like a little girl being held in my mothers arms. What a gift of encouragement and deeper understanding that those three women gave to me as I approach this next transition. How I would love to have more of this kind of midwifing into the next stage of my life.
I would really appreciate hearing real and honest - but please not all bad - stories of other women's experience of the menopause years.
Thank you, Kim
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