When you’re knee deep (nose deep?) in Life’s Fertilizer, sometimes you just have to laugh. It’s either laugh or cry, and crying all the time is exhausting. I can't imagine anyone has ever said, "I've just cried my eyes out, and now I'm so full of energy I can run a marathon". If I heard that, I'd have to bite my tongue, think happy thoughts and walk away.
The women I have gotten to know over the past few years would never let the world know their heart was breaking. You'd look at them and think they have it all together, and their life must be pretty good. If you asked, they'd tell you they were doing fine. They would mean it because of the simple fact they were up, still functioning and going 100 miles per hour taking care of everyone and doing everything that needs to be done.
They wouldn't share the hard stuff, the stuff overwhelming and breaking their heart. This detail is saved for the trusted few; those who notice, ask and genuinely want to know.
I've been blessed with opportunities to share my story with women and to listen to theirs. Each story was of love and of heartbreak through many seasons of life; from the joys and sorrows of children and family, relationships, work success and failure, caring for and losing loved ones and everything in between.
I love these women.
We understand each other. We are not whiners or complainers. We are get up and get it done kind of women. We pour our heart into life, juggling the demands of each day and serving those we love the best we can. With only 24 hours in a day, our needs come last. We do not want to hear that this is not a sustainable way to live healthy, strong and beautiful.
Our greatest strength, however, is also our greatest weakness. Darn it.
I gave them an increasing list of symptoms and syndromes that could possibly occur if they didn't start taking care of themselves; weight gain, tiredness, inability to sleep, joint pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, thyroid issues, digestive issues etc. They looked at me and their eyes got wide as if I was reading their mind and body. Several were experiencing these very things and hadn't said anything about it. They believed all their symptoms were a normal part of aging beyond 40 and they would just have to deal with it.
…until I told them this, and it suddenly made sense and gave hope.