I’m sat in my PJ’s at the table of a lovely old farmhouse in Yorkshire, having spent the weekend with a group of amazing women. Many of them have been my friends for 20-30 years and others I have only recently got to know. Most of us are post menopausal with one or two in perimenopause.
This morning, before packing up I spent some time reflecting on and reliving some of the fun we had.
If we were to go from media portrayals a group of menopausal women going away together could be a recipe for disaster. Hot flushes, tears, tantrums and the inability to organise anything or even remember where we are going.
That isn’t my memories of this weekend. Thinking about the women sat round this table, beautiful, strong, insightful women, I feel completely blessed to have shared this time with them. We lived together seamlessly. No second guessing ourselves or others. Able to articulate what we wanted to do individually and negotiate what we were doing as a group. And a lot of mutual appreciation, honesty and most importantly fun and laughter.
We talked about our ability and confidence to see through, call out and when we want to, walk away from manipulation and drama. No longer feeling the need to “put up with it”.
There was a sense of having come in to our own strength and wisdom.
For those of the group still going through menopausal symptoms there was acknowledgement, willingness to listen and to accommodate with understanding and compassion.
In fact, I’m sure if we got our heads together to solve some of this countries and even the world problems, with the skills we have now, I think we would make a really good job of it.
Let's change the narrative about menopause.
All the talk about menopause at the moment is fantastic. It means women are starting to get the information and support they need. But let’s not focus on the negatives. Let’s balance the focus and talk about not only the difficulties and symptoms but also the positives and growth that many women experience. The skills and qualitys we have and gain.
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