Even though I don’t really believe in these awareness days and what they are supposed to do, I would like to point out in particular the struggles that women of slightly advanced age like myself (avoiding the term “middle-aged”!) have to put up with when dealing with the menopause.

In my case, 2 hot flashes per hour, both day and night, keep me from functioning normally, and I haven’t been able to sleep through one single night for a year now. This is not only affecting my mood and my immune system, but it is also so embarrassing to constantly have episodes of profuse sweating (sweat literally running down my face and neck), especially in front of my students, which makes me feel so unprofessional every time that happens. And never mind that you can’t concentrate, your memory is totally shot, your hair is getting thinner, and your bladder can’t hold your pee anymore.

I also get nausea, palpitations and dizzy spells with most of the hot flushes, so much that I sometimes have to sit down when I’m out walking, and once that even happened to me whilst snorkeling, which could actually have been quite dangerous….

What’s worse, when you go to a doctor about it, especially a MALE doctor, I was told that I just have to just suck it up, and that millions of other women have to go through the same. My current doctor (a WOMAN) is so much more helpful and has been trying to help me with all kinds of options (short of HRT) and advice, none of which has helped so far, but I am currently trying a new supplement that she prescribed me, so that may or may not work. It’s too early to tell, it’ll take 8-10 weeks before I notice something.

So, SISTERS who are going through the same thing, let’s stick together and support each other (at least emotionally), and know that you are not alone…

I wasn’t very close to him and didn’t see him often because we lived in different countries, but inside both our hearts we were a true father and daughter and our bond was strong, and whenever we were together we had lots of fun and told each other that we loved each other.

Sometimes we didn’t see eye to eye, and didn’t talk to each other for months after an argument, but he was a forgiving man and we always made up.

He loved his family dearly, both his own flesh and blood (my brother, my sister and me) and his extended family from his wife Eva’s side, all of whom were there for him until the end.

I didn’t get the chance to see you before he died, but yesterday I sent him an audio message on WhatsApp with kisses, love and hugs from me, that his wife’s granddaughter Kathi played to him, and he was so happy to hear me, which made me so happy too. At least he knows I was *there* even not physically. I love you, dad, always. ??

 

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My dad is finally released from suffering. He passed this morning 7:20 German time, after having spent all his time in hospitals since December last year, following complications from a triple bypass operation. I wasn’t very close to him and didn’t see him often because we lived in different countries, but inside both our hearts we were a true father and daughter and our bond was strong, and whenever we were together we had lots of fun and told each other that we loved each other. Sometimes we didn’t see eye to eye, and didn’t talk to each other for months after an argument, but he was a forgiving man and we always made up. He loved his family dearly, both his own flesh and blood (my brother, my sister and me) and his extended family from his wife Eva’s side, all of whom were there for him until the end. I didn’t get the chance to see you before he died, but yesterday I sent him an audio message on WhatsApp with kisses, love and hugs from me, that his wife’s granddaughter Kathi played to him, and he was so happy to hear me, which made me so happy too. At least he knows I was *there* even not physically. I love you, dad, always. ?? #dad #Iloveyoudad #death #dying #family #forever #catlady #catlover #familie #tod #vater #papa #ichliebdichpapa #alwaysinmyheart

A post shared by Barbarella Silke Buchner (@the_madcatlady) on Jul 10, 2019 at 2:20am PDT

Auf Deutsch:

Mein Vater ist endlich vom Leiden befreit. Er schlief heute Morgen 7:20 Uhr deutscher Zeit ein, nachdem er seit Dezember letzten Jahres seine ganze Zeit in Krankenhäusern verbracht hatte, nachdem er Komplikationen aufgrund einer dreifachen Bypass-Operation hatte.

Ich war ihm nicht sehr nahe und habe ihn nicht oft gesehen, weil wir in verschiedenen Ländern lebten, aber in beiden unseren Herzen waren wir ein wahrer Vater und Tochter, und unsere Bindung war stark, und wann immer wir zusammen waren, hatten wir viel Spaß und sagten uns, dass wir uns lieb hatten.

Manchmal haben wir andere Meinungen gehabt, und sprachen nach einem Streit monatelang nicht miteinander, aber er war ein Mann der alles vergiebt, und wir haben uns immer wieder versöhnt.

Er liebte seine Familie von ganzem Herzen, sowohl sein eigenes Fleisch und Blut (mein Bruder, meine Schwester und ich) als auch die Familie von der Seite seiner Frau Eva, die alle bis zum Ende für ihn da waren.

Ich hatte vor seinem Tod keine Gelegenheit, ihn zu sehen, aber gestern schickte ich ihm eine Voice Nachricht auf WhatsApp mit Küssen, Liebe und Umarmungen von mir, die ihm die Enkelin seiner Frau, Kathi, vorspielte, und er war so froh, mich zu hören, was mich auch so sehr gefreut hat. Zumindest weiß er, dass ich * da * war, wenn auch nicht in Person. Ich liebe dich, Papa, immer….

Having my family over the last week, I was shocked once again that any time I start talking about things like astronomy (e.g. the first time a black hole was captured on photograph earlier this month), medicine (treatment of migraines etc.), politics, religion, the state of the world and positive things on how we can bring about change, the possible side effects of veganism – to mention just a few subjects –  only 10 seconds after I start talking I am either greeted by blank stares, a quick change of conversation, or even being told that nobody wants to know. I was very upset this evening when my mum told me the latter over our meal at the Chinese, and I simply shut up for the rest of the evening and sat there in a strop, listening to them talk about the fat drunk guy who sat at the next table, or how the children over at that other table should be treated by their parents, or that the woman on that other table shouldn’t have a haircut like that because it doesn’t suit her (just to give examples).

I am soooo tired of people talking about trivial crap like that!!! I must admit, I do so too at times, but is there really nothing else people can talk about? And even when I ask them to tell me about themselves, they start on that, and a minute later the conversation again veers off to talk about other people and their problems. All I want is to hear about them, not some other people whom I don’t even know. But they can’t even do that! And if I talk about myself, I often get told that I only ever talk about myself and I don’t want to know about others, which is totally not true! And then I end up feeling guilty and thinking there is something wrong with me.

I have never been one to follow any herd, and I’m proud to say that I have never voted in my life, because I will not be swayed by what the media says about this or that wonderful politician who should be in power. Unless I have known this person personally for some time, I will not simply cast my vote for him or her and then trust them to run a municipality, state or country. This, in my opinion, is exactly why Brexit happened, because they let people who don’t, can’t or don’t want to think for themselves vote on something they don’t know a thing about and because the media fed them a lot of BS, which they believed.

But to get back to the point… 90% of the general public are something exotic and far removed from me because of all of the above, and because I crave more intelligent conversation than them. I cannot be listening to trivial pap all night when I go to the pub or for a meal, it makes me cringe after having to listen to it for more than half an hour, and I feel like I want to run away screaming and go home, because I can have more stimulating conversations with my cats (ok, joke).

I am, however, grateful for the less than a handful of friends I do have in Lanzarote, with whom I can talk about more stuff than just talking about other people or pointless celebrities. I like to hear things from others what their beliefs are, what music or movies they like and discuss those, talk about languages and their quirks, the environment, cat genetics (seriously!), latest advances in technology or medicine, photography and hobbies (not just my hobbies, but theirs too – most people don’t seem to have hobbies though!), and I would love to hear their opinions on things – but just like hobbies, people don’t seem to have their own opinions much either, and I find myself alone and frustrated and my brain and intellect feel like they’re about to die….

So here you go, Planet Earth, I present to you my booty that you can kiss on Valentine’s Day (or any other day, for that matter)…

Get one for yourself, for your cat lover friends or your family for Christmas! Follow the link below – they are 9.99€ plus shipping, and I am going to give 1€ of each sale to Freddy’s Cathouse.

If you don’t have Flash Player CLICK HERE

Size of the calendar is A4 (A3 when open) or approx. 27.94×21.59cm with semi-glossy print.

We should be concentrating on us all, the human race as a whole, and not separate each other by having days like children’s, men’s or women’s days. We should all be ONE – men, women, kids, black, white or green, or gay or trans. We are all HUMAN. And we should all work on solutions together to make everybody happy and create a better world for all of us.

Having said all that, I wish all my friends of all genders, creed and colour a HAPPY DAY today, and all days to come… ????

P.S.: I do welcome and respect everybody’s opinion on this, but if you care to comment, please keep it polite… Thanks.

And here are my photos of the fantastic day!