I recently read somewhere that springtime is a time of renewal and regeneration. While this isn’t how we often think about menopause transition, on my best days, I can see the correlation.
Like the transition from winter to spring, I’ve definitely been “renewed” in different ways throughout my perimenopausal journey. Mostly, I’ve developed a renewed sense of self.
I’ve become much clearer on what’s important to me and what’s not — what I’m willing to tolerate and what I’m not. How to walk away from what no longer serves me and most important, how to pursue with a focused determination, more of what does.
This type of transition can be challenging. I’ve lost (and mourned) relationships that were meaningful to me, passed on what at one time I would have viewed as prime career development opportunities, and disappointed some who thought they knew me.
Even so, this process of renewal has been well worth it.
I recently had the privilege to sail the British Virgin Islands with a group of positive, down-to-earth, just good people. By most accounts, it was a spur of the moment decision — one I made only two weeks before the journey.
It was a decision made literally in a moment when I’d decided that I needed something different and was deserving of all the good things I envisioned for myself. A week prior, my decision would likely have been different. But in that moment, a friend invited me…and I said yes. I’m glad I did.
It was the experience of a lifetime and I came back feeling renewed and regenerated, just in time for spring! I know that much like life, navigating menopause isn’t always smooth sailing. But it’s not a bitter end either. It’s one life transition among many and we can focus on what’s ahead, or ponder on what’s aft and run aground.
March 2023
Create Account or Sign in to post a review