Mid Life Woman

We went for spring break to Florida and visited grandparents. One day, on my 40th birthday no less, we went to a fun place called Cyprus Gardens. The morning started out like it would be sunny. ‘Dad’ is the only one who wore a sweatshirt and we ridiculed him about that! Well, about 1 hour later the sky clouded up and we weren’t laughing anymore! Sure enough he was the only one who didn’t freeze. The nice husband he is, he gave it to me to wear.

To make a long story short, we weren’t prepared that day!

The next day it rained all day long so we stayed in and rested.

The following day was a great day for alligator watching at a nearby park! No worries there with weather. It was beautiful as could be. Besides being called from work that day and missing swimming in the afternoon, it was a great day.

The next day was a day to the beach! After a long 1.5 hour drive through clouds and a sky that appeared to overflow with puffy storms, we arrived. It was so cloudy and overcast and hazy that we didn’t realize what the sun was doing to our skin. I lathered the kids up, and myself. However they get very antsy about that and run away before completing most of the time! We all paid for that laziness. After hours of boogie boarding (yes we all LOVE doing that) we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa’s home. Little did we know, we were burnt in certain sun screen mis-applied spots! My son’s poor chin is still recovering. We don’t know what happened to it - combination of sun and rubbing against boogie board might be the culprits.

The end story is like Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts - BE PREPARED! DON’T BE LAZY about taking care of your own skin and well being like we were! Life can be much more comfortable if you just take those few extra precautions.

It’s a strange thing I was thinking about today. When we were in 5th grade, the elementary school went to great efforts to make sure we girls were educated in the changes going on with our bodies. Almost all girls went through those changes around age 12, give or take a year or 2.

Why is it then, at age 40, when our bodies start behaving strangely, that there seems to be no place to turn to? Doctors can’t explain our symptoms. I’m thinking we need some training and education at age 40 for the changes possibly starting to occur!

I was talking to a friend who is another 40 year old mother, and we shared PMS experiences. We both have horrible cycles of moods, tiredness, etc. I told me sister many a times that she should avoid me if at all possible for about 3 days out of the month. I become almost psychotic, with rages of anger and then sadness. It’s chemical for sure because I know it’s happening yet can’t control it. I have no REASON to behave that way yet I cannot stop!

I hope, by using online tools such as this site healthblogs, I will meet up with more 40 something women who are going through similar patterns with PMS and changes with how our bodies are behaving.

Today is a more calm day. Yesterday I yelled at my kids for leaving stuff strewn all over the kitchen floor. We were on our way to the park to play tennis and I was in a bad mood to start. Luckily, after exercising for a couple hours, I was able to regain some sanity and be a better person and Mom.

More to come!