Saturday, July 15, 2006

On being a babyboomer

I used to think it was cool being a babyboomer, but after my visit to a doctor yesterday, I'm not so sure. Menopause is one thing, but the rest of this stuff that goes along with aging? I wish it would just pass me by!! I'm ONLY 58! That's the new 38, right? ha, ha, ha! Hey, Margot Kidder is 58 this year and she was Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve's Superman, so that should count for something!

I'd take the hot flashes of menopause any day over arthritis! At least the hot flashes usually go away at some point. Now THAT should be encouraging to those of you who are right in the middle of all of it. I've been post menopausal since I was 42 and I really believe that 16 years without estrogen has taken it's toll, but being without insurance means that I have to wait until something is really bothering me before going to the doctor and by then it could be too late to prevent things.....like osteoporosis.

Oh well, guess I'd better take the advice that I give everyone else....accept what is and think positive thoughts! Kind of like "Minnie" does in this cartoon:

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Summer blahs...

I don't know if it's related to menopause or not, but the hot sunny weather really slows me down! I'm one of those people who prefers cool, cloudy, even rainy days to the hot, bright, sunny days. A lot of it IS the heat factor. Even though I don't get major hot flashes anymore, I do heat up pretty fast once the temperature rises and my body seems to hold the heat longer, making it difficult to cool down and feel comfortable.

Once I get heated up, I start SWELLING up and then I'm REALLY uncomfortable! It affects all parts of my life whether I'm trying to work and can't get cooled off enough to concentrate, or if I have my grandkids over and I'm somewhat crabby. I try not to let how I'm feeling affect them, but when I have no energy, feel generally crappy, have swollen ankles or didn't sleep well, it tends to lower the quality of the visit. That's when I start feeling guilty and then over-indulge them to make up for it.

I managed to do pretty well yesterday when my two oldest grandsons came over. They've been asking for weeks if they could come and spend the night, so I finally said ok for last night. I told their mom to drop them off around 4pm yesterday and I cooked hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill. It was pretty muggy yesterday, plus I had a visit to the dentist earlier (to check on when I can get my dental implants), so I was a bit irritable by the time they got here.

It started raining so we were forced to stay inside and the first thing they said was "it's COLD in here!" Well, let's look at the facts....it's summer, it's muggy, and Grandma is menopausal. Of COURSE it's cold in here!! That's the only thing that's going to allow you both to live through the night! Ok, so I probably wouldn't kill them, but I could make their lives miserable for 24 hours! I gave them each a sweatshirt to wear and settled down to watch a movie. Naturally, they wanted snacks so we made kool-aid popsicles and while they were freezing, we went and got ice cream! The last thing I need is ice cream, but ..... oh well!

After the rain, Zach found something to keep busy with! (hmmm...not sure why, but I cannot post a picture!)

I downloaded two movies for them on pay-for-view...at $3.99 each that's a lot cheaper than taking them to the theater! :) I also let them play on the computer for an hour (each) while I watched a couple of my shows last night.

Today I told them that since it's a workday they wouldn't be able to use the computer because I use it all day long. You should have seen the long faces and the slump on the couch and the "I'm bored" comments!! I fully suspect that since I'm the only grandma with an internet connection, that's the main reason they love to come here. :) It's my fault though, I start all of them using the computer at 3, so by the time they're 5 they can play age-appropriate games and create wonderful art pieces that always get hung on my fridge.

They were just picked up a few minutes ago and now I'm back to my menopausal madness, but without an excuse....the kids are gone, it's quiet around here and it's totally clouded over and cooled off about 10 degrees. Guess I'll try to make the most of the day.


Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Minnie Pauz is finally blogging!

I know many of you have wondered why in the world "Minnie Pauz" didn't have a blog, only that ancient message board. Well, now it's here and you have an opportunity to comment on each and every topic that "Minnie" writes about!

She will try to remember to post each day and leave a "photo" of herself to show how she gets through this time of life called menopause, and everything leading up to it! First of all, in case you haven't seen them yet, here is a list of 35 menopause symptoms that help us realize that we ARE experiencing something REAL.

Do you know who "Minnie Pauz" is? She's a woman, much like you if you are a woman with hormones, if you are a babyboomer, if you are single, married or divorced, quite simply, she's "everywoman". She is a little bit (or a lot) of all of us, depending on how you see her. She's gotten a lot of attention for the past 9 years and she's beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed with the exposure she's getting. She's not a doctor or an expert on menopause, but she gets letters that ask about medical issues all the time. That's when she sends people to Dr. Judy Paley, who is a real doctor and has been gracious enough to answer questions on the message board. "Minnie" is very happy to respond to questions about weight gain and chocolate!

The main thing that "Minnie Pauz" (a registered trademark, by the way) brings to the table is a sense of humor about the whole subject of aging, feeling like the fun has gone out of our lives and all this changing that is inevitable. We've GOT to laugh about it or we're doomed to feeling miserable for the next 30 to 40 years! Hey, that's a lot of time to do things we always wanted to do and still time to take care of ourselves and have FUN!

And now as promised, a photo of "Minnie" to prove even further that she's definitely someone with the same problems as most of us:

She only likes to be photographed from the back because she's feels that is her best "asset" and she's not so proud of her double chins and those dark hairs that keep popping out on her chin(s) and upper lip!

Today she's trying to get some exercise in before it gets too hot outside, but this one is one of the hardest because her underarms start flapping so fast that she can't keep her balance! It's also a good excuse to stop!

In case you're wondering who is doing the typing here, check out my bio.
When "Minnie" actually has something to say, I'll put it in bold print (and a color) so you won't get us confused. :) She's the one who comes up with the clever statements like, "Menopausal women are hotter!" She has plenty of those quotes on tshirts and coffee mugs for you!

We hope you will take the time to comment on our new spot. Let us know what you think, ok?