Wednesday 3 February 2010
08:48 | Posted by
Dale Darley |
I awake at 3.30 to sounds of loud revellers wishing each other good night.
A word pops into my mind, it's menopause. I run the word around my mind meno pause. Meno, mens Greek for monthly. Pause, pausis cessation. The time when 'a womans monthly pauses'. Odd. Peri meno pause the time before the time it ends. Peri, around about. Nothing definate then, around about the time your monthly pauses. It all makes sense.
At 13 my mother prepared me for times to come. She gave me a mirror and suggested that I take a look at myself, I thought it strange but complied and looked into the round shaving mirror. She laughed, no down there. Down there was my vagina. She wanted me to not only look at it, but to also put my fingers in it and feel around. Her logic was sound, if you know what it looks and feels like normally, then you will know if there are any changes.
It made sense, so I did. Years later, when I ran a fertility company I was to advise women to 'put their fingers inside themselves' this was to check where the cervix was as this is one of the signs for ovulation, along with temperature and cervical mucus.
Mucus another word that you wouldn't use in polite conversations. Along with the mirror exercise I was horrified at the 'mucus' that appeared around about the time that the monthlys began. At 13 I had no idea what it was. Of course I now know that the fantastic machine that is my body, was preparing me for pregnancy.
Not only did she give me a mirror, but mum took me to one side and showed me a belt and a packet of things called sanitary towels, big thick wadges to stuff in my pants - when the time came. These were put away in my top drawer.
The top drawer day soon arrived. On coming home from school one day I discoverd it had started. I remembered mums conversation with me, so feeling confident I proceed to fit my new pink device. Sitting on the bed I pondered if they had really arrived, so I took it all off, packed it away and sat quite still to wait for her to come home. Only then when she confirmed it would I know - I was on my way to womanhood.
Years have passed, no children came and now I am slipping into the third age of woman, I am becoming a crone (thats a wise women BTW). Just when I thought that I have endured all that fertility creates, I must now face all that menopause brings.
A word pops into my mind, it's menopause. I run the word around my mind meno pause. Meno, mens Greek for monthly. Pause, pausis cessation. The time when 'a womans monthly pauses'. Odd. Peri meno pause the time before the time it ends. Peri, around about. Nothing definate then, around about the time your monthly pauses. It all makes sense.
At 13 my mother prepared me for times to come. She gave me a mirror and suggested that I take a look at myself, I thought it strange but complied and looked into the round shaving mirror. She laughed, no down there. Down there was my vagina. She wanted me to not only look at it, but to also put my fingers in it and feel around. Her logic was sound, if you know what it looks and feels like normally, then you will know if there are any changes.
It made sense, so I did. Years later, when I ran a fertility company I was to advise women to 'put their fingers inside themselves' this was to check where the cervix was as this is one of the signs for ovulation, along with temperature and cervical mucus.
Mucus another word that you wouldn't use in polite conversations. Along with the mirror exercise I was horrified at the 'mucus' that appeared around about the time that the monthlys began. At 13 I had no idea what it was. Of course I now know that the fantastic machine that is my body, was preparing me for pregnancy.
Not only did she give me a mirror, but mum took me to one side and showed me a belt and a packet of things called sanitary towels, big thick wadges to stuff in my pants - when the time came. These were put away in my top drawer.
The top drawer day soon arrived. On coming home from school one day I discoverd it had started. I remembered mums conversation with me, so feeling confident I proceed to fit my new pink device. Sitting on the bed I pondered if they had really arrived, so I took it all off, packed it away and sat quite still to wait for her to come home. Only then when she confirmed it would I know - I was on my way to womanhood.
Years have passed, no children came and now I am slipping into the third age of woman, I am becoming a crone (thats a wise women BTW). Just when I thought that I have endured all that fertility creates, I must now face all that menopause brings.
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