Menopause - out of the closet

I picked up this week's Newsweek (Jan 15th) to discover the cover story was on menopause.
FiftyandFurthermore.com has been writing about it forever. (How to Enjoy Sex Over Fifty - Part IV: Women - Sex After Menopause)

The best book on menopause continues to be one that's been around forever: Hot Flashes by Barbara Raskin. Check it out.

The issues surrounding menopause haven't changed - it's just that society is finally coming out of the closet with them. And Men, please understand what your wife or partner is going through and try not to skip town. Many marriages break up around this period and too few know how much is due to the impact of mood changes due to menopause. Can any of the women (and men) attest to this?

New Orleans Post-Katrina

My husband and I spent part of the winter holidays visiting New Orleans - my first visit there post-Katrina. We had heard that areas of the city were still in shambles but you don't really believe it until you see it for yourself. Some of my observations:

1. I want the city to know that we have not forgotten. I know some feel as if the government has, but I have not.
2. The Big Easy will come back. It is the soul of America (some think seedy soul - I think beautiful).
3. The 9th ward is devasted still. Listen to my husband's views on rebuilding and the
New Deal here. Builders motivated by greed or heart can solve these issues.
4. Others should go to see for themselves because until you are there, you really can't know it all.
5. We cannot forget what's needed in our own country.
6. Sages can mentor, teach, speak up and set an example for younger individuals to reach out and pitch in.

Hope and Resilience

As we deal with endings and new beginnings, the new year is a time to reevaluate your beliefs. Thinking about this, I realized that one of the constants in my life is the belief in resilience. I've even written about it before. (Rolling With the Punches) As a professional, I live in a world where I often see people in intolerable emotional pain. They may have lost their job as happened to one client I saw last year, who didn’t have enough money to pay his rent, much less a steep therapy bill.

Or a loving spouse awakened one day to find his wife had decided to leave him. Divorce was for other people and he now finds himself uncomprehending and inconsolable, unable to get out of bed in the morning or end the day with the gift of sleep. And in between, he is barely able to function.

Another couple with two children living a life filled with love of family, got a mid-afternoon knock on their door to be told their eight year old daughter was hit by a tractor-trailer on her way home from school and died instantly

These are some life’s curve balls unexpectedly tossed one’s way. At that moment these people have no vision that they can survive or that life is even worth living.

Yet with patience, perseverance and help, I’ve seen lives change in ways that are awe-inspiring. I have learned that as hard as times may be, and at times, they are difficult for all human beings, an individual’s ability to thrive, change and grow remains remarkable.

I think of times in my own life where events darkened my own vision and for a period of time I could see no way through to light or joy. Yet with persistence, hard work and time, I began to smile again and what had for a period of time seemed insurmountable became one more life hurdle to overcome.

So this year, instead of making multiple resolutions, I shall stick to two. Hope for less harsh happenings for those I love, care for and for the world at large, and always remember the brilliant resilient ability of the human spirit.