Ten reasons why perimenopause is an important topic, too.

AKA power to the period that, hallelujah, one day does stop!

Photo by Cliff Booth: https://www.pexels.com/photo/menstrual-cups-near-a-woman-6591678/

One of my friends texted me that my period started because I got Coronavirus. I responded, Nothing can ever be f**ked up enough without my period saying, I’m joining this party. My period has been around for so many years: 40 plus.

Having a period show up is no surprise. So, when Life gave me what I wanted all at once—The receipt of a new assignment in a new building to be followed by some new vacation experiences — I was thrilled and wary. But Life also got its kicks by finally introducing me to the Coronavirus soonly thereafter. Then my period started early…

Of course, I cannot be really mad because, again, my period has been around for more than 40 years. It is unpredictable at times, but I try to appreciate its nature.

As the last person in my friend group to be more than 50 and to still have a menstrual cycle, I finally decided to research what was going on. Everyone who has female hormones should refresh their memories about periods and how menstrual cycles act toward the end.

1. Menopause is just one day. After a woman has gone 12 consecutive months without a cycle, that one day when the year is up is menopause. Remember there is no almost here. If your period returns in the 11th month, the counting starts at zero.
2. The winding down time before that is called perimenopause.
3. Estrogen is throughout the body not just in the genitalia. This is why there are more than a hundred ways that perimenopause can manifest in a female body. Of course, the most commonly portrayed ones are hot flashes, night sweats, and bouts of emotion such as anger.
4. If you have a lot of cells in your body, i.e. you are a fluffier, curvier, fatter girl like me, you have extra estrogen in your body and are likely to have your period longer than the average age of stopping which is 51.
5. People who do not have children tend to stop a little earlier. People of black/African descent tend to stop a little later.
6. Perimenopausal experiences are more different than alike. The exception is that there seem to be some similarities between…