I Joined a Flash Mob

I’ve joined a Flash Mob

This past weekend my three sisters and I, as well as a cousin and her friend, did a well-deserved getaway to the Delaware Beaches. No kids. No Husbands. Just us Gals. All of us ladies, being “of a certain age”, really look forward to our annual beach breakout as respite from our habitual daily grinds. You know…Girls Weekend. Despite our ages, we still refer to ourselves as “girls”.

I am not sure when the “Girls Weekend” concept became such an American phenomenon, but it is more common than ever amongst the masses. Even websites like Groupon offer discount packages on Girls Weekend getaways. All I know is it is a plus and a must for any female who just needs to get out of her at-home surroundings, kickback with some good friends, good wine and good time.

After a 2-hour ride and arriving to our destination, we brought our gear in, poured ourselves a drink and started to settle in. The 6 of us were standing around the kitchen island, and I began to notice that my one sister is fanning herself, the other taking her jacket off and airing her armpits, and at the same time I started feeling a heat sensation that started in my belly and rose quickly up to my face lasting about a minute or two. Oh my God! We were all simultaneously combusting into “hot flashes”! Yes, we were a Flash Mob.

Hot Flashes, as you know, are characteristic of menopausal transitioning or perimenopause. The “Flash” can consist of redness of the skin, flushing, sweating. Yep, I have started to experience all of the above. I feel like it is worse when I am lying in bed of late, as I play the “Hokey Pokey” with my covers each night. You know, “I put my right leg out, I put my right leg in…” I recently was on an overseas flight and got up to go the bathroom. While in an already warm space, I could feel the “surge” coming on. Within seconds I was red, hot and sweaty. When I went to sit back down at my seat, next to a complete stranger, I looked like I just finished a 40 minute spin class.

There are somethings that do trigger hot flashes: Coffee and alcohol. Giving up both of those vices may just diminish my personal heat waves. Hmmm. Maybe I can just get a personal fan instead.

So as the group of us gals age gracefully, we will continue flashing each other, be each other’s greatest fans (fanning each other) willing to hold each other’s glass of wine as we take our jackets off for a flash second or two and then put them back on again because we are now cold. Whether it’s a girl’s weekend or a girls night out or a girls gathering, it’s nice to be amongst those who recognize that we are not getting older, we are just getting hotter!