Fat Happens, Fit Takes Work

Part 3
Oh Forty-Three, What Have You Done To Me?

Menopause. That's what forty-three going on forty-four is doing to me. The emotional roller coaster, the lack of energy, the weight gain, all of it symptoms of menopause.  This could be just the beginning...

After consulting with my doctor, I consult with my mentors. They do not hold back either. They give me the nitty-gritty.

"It's hell." Eileen leans back in her seat and crosses her feet at the ankle. "The hot flashes, the mood swings...honey that is just the beginning!" At 89 she still walks faster than I jog and her wit is even quicker.

"Oh it's not so bad", Adrian quips in her New York accent. "But what do I know?" she waves her hand in the air, "I'm too old to remember!"

"Just take drugs", says Cathy.

"You don't need drugs, says Lou Ann, "You're in good shape, you'll breeze through." I appreciate her confidence in me.

"Oh menopause is no big deal. I barely fussed with it myself. My knee replacement, now that was something." Jim sits down with a grunt and the women glare at him and cluck with annoyance.

I sigh and sit in my chair. I begin to do leg extensions and everyone follows along. I can't believe I'm in menopause. I'm so young! Right? My knee makes a popping noise. Not that young.

I survey the room of twenty senior citizens ranging in age from sixty five to ninety. Seventeen out of the twenty are women. Strong, intelligent and fiercely independent women. Not unlike the women in my own family. I smile to myself. If they can do it, so can I.