Hello Everyone,
MY VERY FIRST POST! You have no idea how long I thought about this day, this post, this blog! I’ve searched the internet for websites with women discussing menopause, women having my experience, trying different ideas, chatting about it, but I couldn’t locate anything. I was frustrated. Not many women around me want to talk about it, they tell me, ‘oh I didn’t have any problems’ (I want to SMACK them!), or ‘that was so long ago I don’t remember’ (really, you mean a day will come when this torture will end and I won’t remember any of it?)’ or ‘me, I’m not going through menopause’. At 56 I’m still not sure where I’m at, in the middle of it or the end of it, I’m sure I can’t be at the beginning of it since it started in my mid-40’s.
I’m also an avid reader, my Mom started me off with her Agatha Christie’s and from there, I was hooked on the detective fiction/mysteries genre. I weed in some fiction, non-fiction, rarely romance (but it’s been known to happen). Once upon a time I worked where there were other readers, and we discussed, shared and recommended books, but for the last 12 years I’ve worked with non-readers. They have other interests. But me, I cannot and have never been, without a book open at all times. After work, after dinner, I go outside on my swing, lay down and read until it’s bedtime. And then I read for a little bit more. It’s a rare occasion I am so tired I don’t read before falling asleep. On weekends I can be found outside reading when I don’t have something else more pressing to do.
Reading has always been my first love, my one hobby, until I got married for the first time 6 years ago at 50 years old. I discovered baking and cooking. Before that I collected recipes and cookbooks but never made any of them! Now I bake and hold the Christmas family gathering at my house, so I can make more elaborate brunch foods I don’t make for just my husband and I. And due to my husbands severe diabetes, I’m exploring meatless recipes, and weeding in many more fruits and vegetables. It’s been a struggle as some of you can imagine when you’re married to a big meat eater. When he mentions wanting pizza I ask “will that be the meat, meat and more meat pizza”, now you understand my problem. I share many photos and recipes on my Facebook page but would love feedback and recipes from anyone reading my blog.
And finally, I was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in my early 30’s. I had an alcohol ablation in my 40’s. And most recently June 2016 I fainted? passed out? had a weird event? on a neighbors lawn. An ambulance came and I was in the hospital for a week and a half while they decided what was wrong with me, other than the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy of course. It was decided I have a-fib and let me tell you, it’s a long story, but I’d already complained about having a-fib many times to my cardiologist, I received a shrug in return. Every few days my heart would go into this racing rhythm for several hours, it was frightening, but no one did anything about it. Now I have a defibrillator in my chest (and a new cardiologist) and it will keep me from…the worst case scenario. And a change of medications and now here I am…
Wondering why the hell I’ve waited so long to start my own blog! I’m excited to hear from everyone, share reading lists, recipes, menopause stories, and worried I won’t hear from anyone, or I’ll run out of things to share and talk about…although if you knew me, you’d be laughing at me right about now!
Excitedly Submitted,
Sherry Dietrich
Recent Comments