{"id":3461,"date":"2011-02-18T11:06:01","date_gmt":"2011-02-18T15:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cynthomas.com\/photocardblog\/?p=3461"},"modified":"2011-02-18T11:06:01","modified_gmt":"2011-02-18T15:06:01","slug":"om-peri-menopause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cynthomas.com\/journal\/om-peri-menopause\/","title":{"rendered":"OM :: The Peri to the Menopause"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The title makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Me too. It’s one of those realities of life that if you’re lucky to live long enough, you have to take a little weird with the good.
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\nI remember when I was pregnant that I searched for a pregnancy experience similar to my own. I was validated by other women with some of the same “symptoms” I had, but there were experiences that remained a mystery. I read many books and those provided some solace, but not enough.
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\nAfter I had my first child, I would speak to other mothers about their birth stories to find that commonality among us. I did natural childbirth, so I didn’t find many similar stories with my friends. I began watching “A Baby Story” on TLC during my maternity leave, searching for just one woman to say that what had happened to me had happened to her. Why did I need to hear someone else’s experience match my own? I’m not sure. Maybe it was to not feel so crazy.
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\nNow, here I am, at another female crossroads. I’m 44 and think I may be experiencing some symptoms of perimenopause, but who knows? Who do I ask, besides my lady doc? Oprah? Suzanne Somers? Why does it have to be such a mystery? My moment is deciding to figure this out like the grown-up that I am. Being in my 40s may bring changes to my body, but it also frees my mind from so much of the Stuff that held me back in younger years.
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\nChange is good, so bring on The Change.
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\n\"om<\/a>
\nOM is *one moment* and is a meetup designed to notice & relish a moment in everyday life. The meetup idea was created by Linda at her blog, a la mode stuff<\/a>.
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\nIf you’d like to participate in OM, just click the button and you’ll be taken to Linda’s post explaining it all.
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