I promised I’d tell you about the 9:45 a.m. phone call that got me out of bed yesterday.
The call was from my doctor with the results of a recent blood test. Not to worry, the diagnosis was not of a disease and it’s something very common. Just not for me. So I’m bracing myself.
The test results foretell change swirling about our house. All I can do now is wait. For mood swings, hot flashes, maybe a mustache. I have already started losing my thick hair. And now I’ll be growing hair where I don’t want hair. Like on my chin.
I apologize to those with delicate sensibilities for the indelicate subject today. But I also thank the creators of All in the Family who, in 1970, brought a taboo subject into American homes, and playwright Jeanie Linders, who turned a horrific condition into a Broadway musical.
My husband isn’t sure what to make of it all. His first question had to do with the mood swings: “How is this going to differ from how you already are?” At least he didn’t ask that about the mustache.
Word Nymph 
My dad used to point out — and it’s so true — that men hit the same thing, but instead of hot flashes we get ridges on the fingernails, bifocals (or reading glasses), and 3-inch hairs growing from our ears.
Navigating through this hormonal minefield can be a challenge, I’m told, but is made easier by family support. I look forward to comparing mustaches with you the next time we meet.
No biggie. You may recall my oft-used signature line ,- I refuse to think of them as chin hairs; I prefer to think of them as stray eyebrows.
Welcome to the club!
After all these years, that central air conditioning is coming at the perfect time. Things really DO happen for a reason!!
I suggest getting a collection of fans–not little folding fans, but the kind on a stick, what they call funeral-home fans–and having one in every room where you live and work.
Although they’re designed for racier areas of the body, you can use one of these on your chin, too, if/when you get sick of plucking.
Solidarity!
Do you belong to the National Federation of Press Women? I still get teased because when I attended their 2009 conference, menopause was a constant topic. They probably did it on purpose, since I was one of maybe five men there.
I will always be there for you. Been there, done that.