On the blog today I have my dear friend and fellow writer, Theresa Wiza, who is here to share her experience with menopause and to show us some really cute t-shirt designs for hot (as in HOT FLASHING) women like us! ***Samples of shirts are below the post***Menopausal Women are SO HOT! Quick disclaimer – I didn’t know I was in menopause until my gynecologist told me I was post-menopausal. Surprise! So let me take you back to the time I was in my early 30s, more than half a lifetime ago. My younger sister and I were discussing our sporadic periods and mild hot flashes – you know – the difference between mild and hot versions of hot sauce? Like that. We would sit in restaurants and periodically remove our jackets and put them back on, take them off, put them back on, and repeat the process every time we got together. We even discussed our thoughts considering the possibility that we were experiencing peri-menopause. Was that even possible? Weren’t we too young to be in peri-menopause? We had no reference point, because our mother, who had a complete hysterectomy in her 30s, never experienced menopause. Fast-forward to the year I turned 48. I awoke one night drenched in sweat. OK, now I know I’m menopausal, because I had heard about night sweats, and I was obviously having one. So I made an appointment with my gynecologist, and after she tested me, I learned I was post-menopausal. Because I was only 48, she tested me again, and yep, same result – POST-menopausal! I was flabbergasted! That was it?! One night of night sweats? You mean menopause is OVER for me and I’m POST-menopausal already? How lucky could I be? I’m never lucky! How did I get away with only one night of night sweats? No more hot flashes? Yay! Yippee! I’m so excited! And I never again experienced another night of night sweats – of awakening with sheets drenched in sweat – thank you, God! But, alas, the effects of menopause were not over – not by a long shot – not by 20 years (so far, anyway – add dramatically disgusted face here), because what continued were HOT FLASHES, not to the point of soaking the sheets with sweat at night, but to periodic waves of sweltering heat that NEVER ended! And all I could think was, NOT FAIR! Maybe the reason I’m still experiencing menopausal hot flashes is that I have always been HOT! People could be sitting around me wrapped in blankets, and I would be trying to figure out how not to be naked and still feel comfortable. A stash of sweaters from the early 70s, when I was in my 20s, haven’t seen daylight since the 70s. Worn only on days when temperatures were sub-zero and I had to walk a couple of blocks to work, I’d get to work, remove all of my outer clothing and bake the rest of the day. Those sweaters are still in perfect condition. I keep them, because I’ve heard that little old ladies get really cold, and I don’t want to have to purchase new sweaters when I already have a bunch in perfectly good condition. Though I’m now 68, I am apparently not yet old enough to wear them. My body heat problem is so bad that wherever I go, I have to find out at what temperature people like to keep their thermostats so I can dress accordingly. My mother and one of my sisters are always cold, so I avoid them. Just kidding. I wear tank tops or similar no-sleeve clothing when I’m in their homes. Family occasions, no matter where we all meet, are usually very crowded, and I’m especially sensitive to body heat. Put a bunch of people in a room together and my body’s temperature rises about 1 degree for every person there. So when the temperature in the room is 70, and you add 40 people to the mix, I’m so hot, you could roast a meal on me (I hope you weren’t eating when you read that last sentence). If you attended those gatherings, you’d find me grabbing paper plates and fanning myself with them or running outside barefoot in the snow just to cool off. You’d see my face dripping with sweat, and you’d hear me repeating over and over, “I’m so hot!” One day, not long ago, after hearing from his mother, for probably the millionth time, “I’m so hot,” my son, who was standing near me, blurted out, “Don’t flatter yourself!” After I burst with laughter, I thought, Wow, what a great idea for a menopause t-shirt! So, with a picture in mind about how I wanted the shirt to look, I asked my creatively cartoony cousin to design my menopause shirt for me. And he did! So Ladies, if you experience hot flashes, remember that you’re not just hot – you’re SO hot, you’re practically on fire! And now may I present to you the menopause shirt that will announce to everyone just how hot you really are (but don’t flatter yourself).
TO ORDER:
"Gutsy" T-shirt: http://bit.ly/GutsyWomen
"Courageous" T-shirt: http://bit.ly/CourageusFeisty
"I'm So Hot" T-shirt: http://bit.ly/SoHotMenopause
BIO: Theresa is first and foremost a mom, grandma, and great-grandma. When she's not writing and crocheting, she's taping her new YouTube channel, Youthful Aging for REAL Women, or she's designing t-shirts, mugs, tote bags and more. She always ends her posts with, "find a little joy and sprinkle it everywhere."
***You can find Theresa's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0g5TV_PpWQ5ESHEbDRaXkg
