Do you remember that Jim Carrey movie from 1998 where he was Truman Burbank, a man owned by a corporation and every minute of his life was watched via secret cameras on a huge soundstage built to keep him trapped?
You know, sometimes I think that real life might be like The Truman Show. I can only imagine that we are all being punked for views, because what do you mean that many moms go through perimenopause at the same time that they have teenagers in the house? What do you mean that everyone’s hormones are shifting around at the same time and kind of making us all crazy at the same time?
I don’t ever really remember my mom and her sister or friends discussing things like perimenopause. I was a very nosy child and often liked to eavesdrop on adult conversations. They didn’t seem to talk about this time in life and all the symptoms that come with it. According to Google, “Perimenopause symptoms include irregular periods, hot flashes, and night sweats, along with mood swings, and sleep problems. Other common signs are headaches, weight gain, joint and muscle aches, and brain fog.”
What I have noticed is that our generation seems to be actually talking about it.
I see women online all the time who are asking for and receiving advice about everything that comes with every stage in life. Where it used to only be moms whispering baby and body advice to brand new moms, now it’s women in every stage of life, boldly offering help to all those who are experiencing the same things that they once experienced.
To me, it feels like as a mom, you start to get some freedom when your kids are becoming self sufficient and you’re able to sleep in a little bit, and life is less clawing for some sense of normalcy and more actual normalcy. And then…perimenopause hits. Now you’re an insomniac, sweating like crazy at night and during the day, you have brain fog, have headaches, and – OMG itchy ear canals and plantar fasciitis out of nowhere – all make you want to crash out.
But then there are wonderful women (some moms and some not) who will give you all the tips for feeling human again. Did you know that Flonase on a Q-tip will solve the itchy ear thing? I didn’t until a very kind internet stranger saved my sanity. So I really cannot stress enough that if you are in perimenopause and your entire body just starts doing its own thing with basically no warning to you, check in with the women in your community. Maybe that’s in person, maybe it’s online, but the women who will help you are out there! And as for the teenagers, remember how dramatic life was at that time for you and give them some grace. Let them make some mistakes and hopefully learn a lesson or two along the way.
And when all the hormones in your house turn into a tornado of emotions, just think about how somewhere out there is an entire audience with a laugh track, eating popcorn and living their best, entertained life…while we slowly lose our ever loving minds.
