Hello, my friend!
This morning, as the sun was coming up and I was drinking Sencha tea (which I seem to prefer in early spring, as it smells of grass), many birds flew in front of my window. Even a hawk low over my roof with a fish in its talons. And Gertrude and I danced our duet, a stream of consciousness in florid language. But I should probably tell you who Gertrude is.
↓ In today’s email:
- This week’s inspiration: Gertrude, creativity, and the unsung story of midlife
- Latest blog post: What is the estrobolome, and why not pooping is jacking up your hormones
- What I listened to this week: Dr. Vonda Wright and jewels of wisdom from 89-year-old psychiatrist who was trained by Freud
This Week’s Inspiration: A Re-Nascimiento
I let my typewriter get demolished by a two-year-old. Completely my fault, deep in conversation with wonderful parents. Gertrude, a 1957 typewriter, took such a beating that the man who repaired it said he’d never seen such an atrocity. He encouraged me to abandon Gertrude and perhaps invest in another vintage typewriter. I declined, being deeply loyal to her. After being completely rebuilt, Gertrude was resplendent, each of her keys struck beautifully as my fingers danced across the keyboard. The loud clack-clack-clack was replaced by something more melodic and less staccato.
All this, of course, leads me to a number of realizations. One: I’m not sharing my toys anymore. And two: if something is a tool of creativity and expression, I shouldn’t treat it so haphazardly.
Speaking of creativity, it abounds. Possibly because at this stage of life I’ve moved from the "please eat your vegetables" to the "do you have enough condoms, sweetheart" stage of motherhood. I am here and present but I am needed less and less.
In Chinese medicine, the area or energy source of procreation and parenting is the same one from which creativity comes. As my parenting responsibilities diminish, I’m excited to say so much inspiration has been bubbling up. Even this newsletter alone, this wordsmithing creation is new, as I never wrote before this newsletter. If you don’t count papers in college about political science, which basically we don’t.
With all the hand-wringing of menopause, and even teenage girls saying they fear it so much despite it being 40 years off, perhaps this creative blossoming is one of the unsung stories of this time. Another might be the realization that one’s energy is finite, and by giving all the time, there’s just nothing left, and there’s nothing heroic about running yourself ragged, even if you’re a mother in puritanical New England.
If you’re a parent, have you noticed your creative juices have changed? And if you’re on the other end of parenting, are you noticing something sparking within you? Something of a re-nascimiento? A rebirth? And that you can be the person that you didn’t have the courage to be in the past? Energy or maybe just the time?
I’d love to know. Hit reply and tell me.
Latest Blog Post
What Is the Estrobolome, and Why Is Not Pooping Jacking Up Your Hormones?
There’s a collection of gut bacteria you’ve probably never heard of called the estrobolome, and it has a very specific job: managing how your body processes estrogen. When you’re not having regular bowel movements, old estrogen that should be leaving your body gets reabsorbed instead. In perimenopause and menopause, this can make your symptoms worse. I wrote about the science behind it, what beta-glucuronidase actually does, and the boring-but-brilliant fixes that can help (seeds in yogurt, morning walks, and one fermented food a day).
What I Listened To This Week
The Dr. Vonda Wright Show: Dr. Arnold Gilberg
Vonda Wright covers the health and wellness of menopausal women from many perspectives, but she’s an orthopedic surgeon, so she often talks about musculoskeletal issues. In this episode, she interviews Dr. Arnold Gilberg, an MD/PhD psychiatrist who was a student of Freud’s. He talks about one of the keys to our healing has to do with thinking we are worth while enought to be healed. They also touch on the ideal patient-doctor relationship in which the doctor can divulge just a bit of herself to deepen a therapeutic relationship. This is something I value in my practice with my clients: this deep understanding.
I hope you like this episode. Report back. And I’m looking to broaden my horizons for new podcasts to listen to, so if you have some favorites, please let me know what they are.
As you know, next Sunday is the most important day of the year: Mother’s Day. Feel free to gift yourself a session with me or to the woman in your life who needs a little extra TLC. You can buy a gift card here.
With love,
Dr. Catherine