Spring Ahead
There is something magical about hearing that first bird tweeting somewhere off in the distance when the snow is still on the ground and you can still see your breath as soon as you walk outside. I think however it is the annual changing of the clocks that sets our bodies into motion, no matter how long we have sat stagnant, and hibernating.
So while most of us take the change of seasons in stride, what is it about change in general that makes many of us go into either a paralyzed or manic state, dependent upon our primitive reaction to trauma?
Change is The Only Constant
Some wise philosopher said that and for some it is totally terrifying. Change, what me? Why would I need to change anything? For one thing, think about the snake that sheds its’ skin – it’s all about growth, right? Change is like rebirth: it gives us another chance – where we can take a look at what we are doing in our lives and decide if we are on the right path.
But wait, what? Examine my life? Why? Well, for one thing, “an unexamined life is not worth living,” said the great Socrates. And, while his musings may not have been intended to send all of us who may or may not be in midlife crisis to impulsively run off to Paris to paint or pick up missionary work in the Sudan, the idea of change, while it may be scary can also be an exhilarating proposition.
For those of us who became parents at the halfway mark of our lives, the upheaval and change has been, at least for me, both terrifying and thrilling. While we may have thought that our fifties and sixties would be the late afternoon of our sunset years, in an instant, those years have become the spring, when all the new lambs are born.
Changing Diapers and Magazine Subscriptions
My son was 3 and I was 45 when I opened my mailbox to find my first “free” sample of AARP. It came the day after my Rolling Stone and Fitness subscriptions arrived. I remember putting the three magazines next to each other on the kitchen table and analyzing the stages of my life. I have been reading Rolling Stone since I was 16. I started Fitness and other women’s health magazines in my late twenties, early thirties.
Now I was staring down at the magazine dedicated to the demographic of retirees. My three year-old tugged at my pant leg. “I have to go potty.” I looked down at him and back at the picture of Richard Gere and his salt and pepper good looks staring back at me, and thought, “What stage am I in right now?”
Menopause and Puberty-The Mother of All Changes
My son has a spring birthday, which also happens to be my mother’s birthday. It is a cycle of life that fills me with great joy. Yet, as he nears his tenth and I just past my 52nd, I find myself poised for the oncoming train wreck that is testosterone vs. estrogen; my hormone waning and his waxing. How will these life cycle changes affect us and how can I prevent a tsunami of emotional upheaval?
Menopause vs. Puberty, its like the age-old question of Godzilla vs. King Kong, is there ever really a winner? I can’t help but wonder if I will have any idea about how to wrap my head around the changes that will take over this boy who was, just a few seconds ago, it seems, only interested in toys and mom.
These days, the hot flashes and the mood swings are coming faster and more furious. For him the curiosity about girls and the changes in his body are becoming a concern. The two of us are changing together, and both at a crossroad with our daily emotions, hormonal imbalances, and questions about what’s to come.
Change is in the air and much like that first sound of the birds when the clocks move ahead, I can only hope that we can both embrace the inevitable, examine our lives, examine our changes and figure out a way to spring forward.