Fifty is the new Forty!

You may be wondering what is I Live That is all about.  Well, it’s about life at Fifty, fun ways to stay fit, yummy foods that are healthy, green living and of course family (I love my grandkids!).  Be sure to pop over to the About Page for more information.

I recently turned 50 and I just can’t believe it actually happened ~ To Me…….As if having nights sweats and insomnia isn’t bad enough, I am now experiencing forgetfulness …what did I come into this room for…and thinning hair – female pattern baldness – who knew….. dry skin, foggy thinking, and then – LOSS OF LIBIDO hits.  WTH??!!

I want the old me back with my beautiful hair, vibrant personality and sex.  Yes, I want SEX.  It was fun, I do remember that, and my hubby is the love of my life, so let’s get busy!

Another joy I am experiencing is 2 a.m. inspiration.  I roll over and realize I’m wide awake…I go through the usual questions ~ did I hear something, do I have to pee, am I hungry?  Nope….So I’m up, with a cup of tea, pounding away at the keyboard so to be sure those amazing insights that come only at that ungodly hour are captured.  As I’m typing away I hear a hissing noise.  As it continues, I wonder if it’s the music I have on very low as to not wake my honey, is the toilet running or maybe the water softener is cycling through? No….well it IS raining maybe that’s what it is.  I think I’ll make another cup of tea and just see what happens.  As I get closer to the oven I realize what it is….it’s the oven!  I turned it on to bake a potato for our Sunday morning breakfast.  Sheesh, I AM losing it.  Good thing I decided on that second cup of tea or we’d never have potatoes the next morning.

As I look in the mirror and wonder who that person is I realize – Yep – it’s me.  Only I’m not in my thirties anymore.  *Sigh**  I have wrinkles, age spots and grey hair – which my hair stylist Cassie camouflages quite nicely. My skin is thinning and gravity is pulling everything down and I just can’t stomach another push up bra, they’re too damn uncomfortable.  This is the girl who can take her bra off as she’s coasting into the driveway without removing her shirt….I have it down to a science.  I’m all about comfort.  Yes, I will post those 4 inch heels on my Pinterest page, but who am I kidding I can’t AND won’t wear those.

That’s for the 30-year-old me.  Let’s be realistic, you throw your back out just looking at them.  Here’s what I can wear now:

No seriously, I have switched from a pump to a wedge, although, I do have a nice collection of flats as living in the desert Southwest lends to sandals almost year round.

I am still a lover of all things pretty and nail polish is no exception.  Leaving the house with bare toes is like going braless to the grocery store and that ladies, with gravity fighting against me, isn’t gonna happen!

My Mother enjoyed turning 50.  She found the love of her life and this colored her world in such a positive way.  She was making good money, enjoyed traveling and loved spending time with her grandkids.  So all in all this was peaceful time in her life.  She did experience early menopause in her late 20’s so this changed things up for her a bit, but in her late 60’s she has experienced some of these same things I am now going through.  Interesting……

Nobody tells you what to expect at this age, and they certainly don’t talk about it, so I have to ask, what’s going on?  The next time one of your girlfriends or your sister(s) mention anything hormonal or out of character for their body, use this to open a dialog about these changes. What we are experiencing can be confusing and sometimes downright scary, so let’s support each other and make this an amazing segue to the second half of our lives.

The key here is living a balanced life.  For me, that means making an effort to eat real, unprocessed foods (I love Kale Salad and I eat Quinoa several times a week) and daily exercise along with keeping negative garbage out of my mind.  Spiritual balance is also a key part of my daily life.  It can be as simple as sitting quietly and emptying my mind of all worries or taking the dog for a walk and seeing the world through her eyes.  By surrounding myself with beauty, positive people and positive situations, life becomes richer.

So, in a nutshell, our hormones regulate every thing that happens in our body.  When we experience loss of hormones due to aging, things get wacky.  That’s where Hormone Replacement Therapy comes in to play; specifically Bio Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy. I will share more about BHRT, healthy foods  and Mind/Body/Spirit connections in future posts so stayed tuned but for now, here are a couple of links to get you started:

Suzanne Somers on Bioidentical Hormones. Any of her books are wonderful resources so check out your local library for copies.

Dr. Andrew Weil on Perimenopause

Donna Eden on Energy Medicine for Women

My husband truly is wonderful because he is taking all of this in stride.  When I screech “What is happening to me??!!”  he replies with “Oh Honey, it’s menopause” and then gives me a Big Hug.  I couldn’t ask for more, except to have my sex drive back to take advantage of his understanding.  This is, as Suzanne Somers puts it, Men-On-Pause.  Well that just sucks!  Let’s hit that Forward button and start enjoying life!

Happy Birthday to all the April babies out there….