1. How fleeting it was to feel at ease in my body.
It happened early on, too, before I even had the language to describe what it was. All I know is one day I was a kid looking at myself in the mirror and feeling fine, and the next day all I could see were things that needed to be “fixed.”
2. Sometimes it’s just really, really, really uncomfortable.
Both physically and mentally. Lower back aches, cramps, migraines, extreme mood swings, bloating–I swear dudes could not handle it.
3. How these damn hair ties will always disappear no matter how hard I try.
I officially give up. I consider all my lost hair ties as offerings to the goddess of the universe! LOL.
4. How truly challenging it is to balance work, raising a child, keeping a house afloat and having a life of your own.
I struggle with it daily, sigh.
5. That the fear I had about being a “bad” mom is more common than I thought.
I delayed having a child because I worried that the hands-off style of parenting I received as a kid would echo through me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to connect with a little one. Turns out I was wrong, as motherhood has been an unexpected source of joy.
One last bonus item…
…which is something that I’ve only learned within the last few years. It’s very helpful when I’m having a conversation with another woman to say, “Do you want me to listen, or would you like me to help you find a solution?” Sometimes you just want someone to lend an ear while you process, and it helps to set that expectation early on.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Happy International Women’s Day! Love that last little tip!
That’s a great tip there, at the end. An autistic friend used to say to me: do you want distraction therapy or sympathy?
Complete Yes to the aches and pains of being a woman – in my case 22 years of endometriosis and then fertility drugs and then hysterectomy etc.
I’ve always heard it said that women pretty much always just want someone to listen to their problems, not to automatically try to solve them. That men always assume that if they jump in with a solution (what they think is a solution) that it will be appreciated, and the woman will stop complaining/talking (which is what the man is after).
Abou the life of your own – well, I think what you described is your life. I always told my mother that our tragedies were that she got what she wanted, and I did not.