FocusOnTheFamily

The menopausal heat is on

Written by Denise Rumble

“Guys, I’m sorry, but I just have to turn on the air-conditioning.”

“Mom, are you crazy? We’re driving through a snowstorm!”

“Honey, please stay on your side of the bed. It’s just too hot.”

Mid-life has crept up on me and suddenly, as I was sticking my head in the freezer one day, it occurred to me – I am menopausal!

It’s not a disease; it’s normal. But I have been so consumed with erratic body temperatures, runaway anxieties and irrational thoughts that I have been leaving my family bewildered. I had better tell them what’s going on.

I have explained that hot or cold, daft thoughts or no thoughts, strange moods, sad moods, happy or too tired to care, I am simply going through yet another stage of life that besets all females.

“Yes, kids, you may walk in on me crying for no reason; I’d love a hug!”

“Yes, honey, your sleep may be disturbed as I repeatedly hurl the covers off and on. I just need your understanding; making dinner helps.”

As honest conversations develop, my family has begun to realize what I am going through. My warnings of a bad day usually generate their support. They’ve discovered that this physical change makes me crazier than normal sometimes, but they know I still love them.
Hot flashes may be fodder for the comedians in my life, but one day it will be over: I’ll need to snuggle closer to my hubby because my feet are cold, and hot flashes won’t attack; I’ll notice that my thoughts are consistently sane; and it will seem that, overnight, menopause has ended and I have endured.

God made me. He knows all about menopause. He put me in a family so we could support one another through life’s challenges. I know that with help from those around me and from the One within me, I will survive. And, with honesty, prayer and an extra sweater, so will my family!

Denise and her family are living (almost) menopause-free in St. Marys, Ontario.

© 2007 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.

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