The older I get, the more I realise that all this talk of women having ‘gone mad’ is actually just women waking up one day, smelling the coffee and feeling fricking furious…
Furious that they twisted themselves like a pretzel all these years trying to conform to what others wanted then to be.
Furious that they didn’t say no more, or more to the point, that they didn’t say f**k you more.
Furious that they didn’t say yes more, that they didn’t feel they could put themselves first.
Furious that their feelings, their emotions and their desires were branded as ‘hormonal’ all these years, as a lame excuse to fob them off and not face up to bad behaviour.
And no, this is not the menopause.
This is called awakening.
The older I get the more I realise that no, women are not going mad.
In fact, they are becoming very very sane indeed.
Donna Ashworth
LPIO 2018
I’m in agreement and at 65, I’m hoping I’ve worked through most of the anger and am now experiencing what I call “chiseling,” knocking off the shit that has encumbered me for way too long, and attempting to get to the core of who I truly am. The aging process takes so much courage, and having the support of your female friends is invaluable. Thank you for your words. The next article, Waving the White Flag, is the icing on the cake.
Hi Liz, I love that analogy! You may just have inspired me for my next piece, watch this space! Thanks so much for your comment. It is true, with each other’s support the ageing process is actually very liberating. I am still only in my 40’s but am laying down some solid groundwork and starting early with my acceptance. I am set to really enjoy the rest of my years and shrug off all the futile silliness that comes before. Great to have you here. Donna x