I knew better

Hotflash found here

Last night Sam stated, "I'm craving ice cream. I'm going to Cold Stone." Not wanting to be left out, I asked for ice cream, too. "Something chocolate with nuts." And so 20 minutes later, I sat in front of the TV with my chocolate nutty ice cream watching a show about sex change operations. Since I took control of the remote for a change, Sam sullenly watched the election coverage on his computer in the study.

It seemed idyllic, but I had to pay for it. I'm menopausal. I had a hysterectomy 10 weeks before Sam and I got married. The resulting hot flashes almost ended our marriage. I couldn't stand him getting close to me in bed because I'd be too hot. I'd wake up in the night with perspiration pouring off me and shove Sam over away from me. There was no cuddling, none of the cozying up and sleeping on his shoulder that I had for so long dreamed of. On those occasions when I'd throw an arm over Sam during the night, he'd soon push it off with a phrase I heard over and over that first year: "You're sticky!" I didn't want to use hormone replacement pills because our family has a history of breast cancer. But after Sam told me that his girls complained, "She's hot all the time when no one else is!" I decided that I had endured enough. So I got a prescription for Premarin and was a happy camper for a long time.

After we moved here to the Southwest, I realized that I'd have to find a new doctor and get my Premarin prescription renewed. I didn't. So I'm not using Premarin now. And guess what? No hot flashes. Of course, that is because I went off the pills a few days before I went back east when my father died. Mother doesn't eat sugar, and I was eating rather sparingly. I knew that dairy, eggs and sugar all make hot flashes worse. So what did I eat yesterday? An omelette for breakfast (thank you, Sam) and a bowl of ice cream to end the day with.

Not only am I hopelessly congested this morning, I "flashed" all night long. Morning came too soon today. I think I'll stay home from work until my flashes become little power blips. I think the days of eating whatever I feel like, whenever I want, are officially over. We all grow up. We don't all grow responsible!

For those of you who experience power surges every so often, here's an excellent resource for you.