Sundays, Menopause, & Forgetfulness

breakfast in bed

I love Sunday mornings when I sit for hours reading the NY Times, while enjoying too much coffee and bacon.  The reason it takes me hours to finish is due to my newly self-diagnosed A.D.D. (not really, but it sometimes seems that way!)  Every time I read an article that I find really interesting, a book that I should read, or a movie that warrants a view of the trailer, I go over to my desktop computer (no, I don’t have a laptop) to do a bit more research.  So, this past weekend I was doing my usual back and forth…my place is probably less than 200 sf so it’s not much of a walk… and I look at emails, click on various links, and get sucked in.  I went back over to resume my paper reading and realized I never looked up the movie or the article I went over to the computer to “research” in the first place! (by the way, the movie was Saint Laurent, coming out this Friday, about the designer Yves St. Laurent…can’t wait!)

menopause4

Anyway, this leads me to a dilemma that plagues those of us in middle age (please don’t tell me it’s just me!)  Your doing something….working, cooking, reading or just sitting at your computer…and you suddenly realize you forgot to do something, or you need to get something from the other room.  By the time you get to the other room, or sit down to do that something you forgot, you have totally forgotten what it is you were looking for or needed to do…WTF!!!  I used to be such a list-maker when my kids were young just to make sure everything got done…their schedules, housework, meals, shopping, etc…and it usually did.  At what point did I think it was a good idea to just try to remember all those things?….because there were less people in the house or there was less to remember?menopause2

I was also reading an article in MORE magazine….a magazine “for women of style or substance” which, when they first published, meant women OVER 40, but this month they have 34 year old Jessica Alba on the cover…whatever, I still love it and the relevant information it provides women.  They had a whole section titled “New Health Rules at 30,40, 50 & 60.”  So, I jumped to the “50’s” section and found the following information….”go easy on the salt to preserve your calcium; limit added sugars to 100 calories a day (6 tsp) to avoid high blood pressure; eat 2 or more servings of fish a week to maintain your hearing; my favorite, do eight squats three days a week to protect your knees (to my team-mates…ONLY eight squats…really??..YAY!!…although we’d never get faster!); and lastly, you don’t have to take iron any more assuming menopause has kicked in.  That’s the synopsis….you’re welcome.

AAN3PY

Speaking of menopause, my friend Barrie sent a group of us this NY Times article giving us the news that hot flashes can last up to 14 years.  I could have told you that!  “The median length of time women endured symptoms was 7.4 years” according to researchers in the largest examination to date of the menopausal symptom.  The amount of years women “suffered”…that’s my word….varied depending on ethnic background and how early the symptoms began.  Unfortunately for those who started having hot flashes early, they continued longer than for those that didn’t start having them until after their periods stopped (they didn’t include hysterectomy patients in their findings, whose symptoms do start earlier than others, so this study doesn’t really apply to me, but I feel like I’ve had them forever!)  A word of wisdom…just invest in a lot of tank tops and be ready to shed layers as need be….and personal fans work wonders…in the car, on your desk, in your purse…ugh!  It’s gonna happen, you just have to go with it!  Acupuncture and herbs have helped some.

So, I guess all this is to say that shit happens as you get older that you may not have control over…but you have control over the way you respond to them.  I’m going to go back to making lists instead of relying on my feeble memory so much, and invest in more of those tank tops!  …and never stop eating bacon, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday NY Times!

 You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!

8 Comments

  1. One of the best results I’ve gotten since we switched to eating vegan raw at home, is the lifting of the menopausal brain fog. My mind is MUCH sharper, and also the arthritis in my hands is all but gone. We still eat out twice (sometimes 3 times) a week, so we don’t feel totally deprived, but we still have good results. So try substituting your breakfast or lunch with a greens shake with apple, or a fresh fruit shake (don’t mix the two, digestion won’t like it.) Eat more salads; the more dark leafy greens the better – see if it doesn’t help!

    1. I love my green shakes & I’m sure they help. Loved eating raw when I visited you but I’m not as disciplined as you. I am going to buy a spiral cutter that we made the zucchini spaghetti with at your house… as a gift to myself & my newly painted kitchen when I move in July.

  2. Love this post. I definitely want to see that movie. Last summer we hosted a French student who knows the films producer. His mom went to school with him and they still keep in touch. I’ll have to let them know that it finally made it to the US.

    It was so fun hanging out with you on Sunday. Steve said, “she’s such a great person”. He loves seeing you, as do I. Let me know if you want to go see that movie.

    1. Hi Kim.. Always great to see you & Steve. Love when people stop by! I’m away this weekend but will definitely call you next week to go.. Maybe Monday?

  3. I have been walking into the next room and forgetting why I went there since I was young. I have post it note pads in 3 different places in my house and one right next to me at work. I would be a mess without my lists.

  4. I often forget what I walked into a room for, but I’ve been doing it since I was too young to be considered “aging”. I think we all just have too much going through our brains.

    And I loved your first meme. I bought myself a beautiful necklace in Zion when I turned 50. The chain broke many months ago and I put it in a safe place until I could get a new chain. I’ve looked everywhere and so far it hasn’t turned up. Still looking, though.

  5. I went online to confirm the temperature of cooked chicken and checked out your blog, The movie looks great, love the tips and can confirm the menopause thing. Wait, why did I go to the computer? Damn, the chicken’s burned.

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