Heating Up

On Tuesday, I was feeling pretty good about my youthfulness as I approach another birthday this month.
I'd been to the eye doctor and he said that I had "young eyes." He said I might not ever need reading glasses.
That cockiness waned that evening.
I was teaching a glass from six to nine p.m. As I stood in front of the class, wearing a blue and gray wool sweater over a camisole, I felt a heater ignite inside of me.
Suddenly, sweat was dripping down my forehead, plastering my bangs against my skin. I surreptitiously reached up and wiped at the sweat.
I pushed up my sleeves to bare my forearms.
But I wanted to rip my sweater off and stand before the class in only my camisole.
Why was I suddenly so hot?
This entire winter, my thermostat has been running high. In bed at night, I sleep in a t-shirt and shorts while my husband is bundled in flannel sleep pants and a long sleeved shirt. Often I kick the covers off, or simply stick my feet out from under the covers, but I hadn't had an actual hot flash before.
I suspected I might be having them the week before, but I was sick, so I couldn't tell if I had a fever or hot flashes.
On Tuesday night, I had no doubt as I suffered through three hot flashes while standing in front of the class.
I had to teach the next morning, and remember the hot flashes from the night before, I wore a sleeveless blue dress, tights and a cardigan. I wore a scarf too, which was easy to unwrap and throw over my chair. But I didn't think it through. Because when I got too hot, I felt too self conscious to take off my cardigan. I just thought the students would judge me for wearing a sleeveless dress when the temperature was in the 20s outside.
By the last class that day, I simply said, "I'm too hot," and I pulled off my cardigan. No one commented on my bare arms.
Nor did they say anything about the way my bangs started to wave as they got wet from my sweaty forehead.

Here' a picture of me and 2-year-old Regan.
No more babies for me now that menopause
 has hit. Well, I wasn't going to have more anyway. 

I'm still not sure whether I should acknowledge the hot flashes when I'm teaching or if I should continue to ignore them. I don't know why I'm afraid to. It's not like they don't already think I'm really old, compared to them.
Although, in one class, when they were talking about age, they asked how old I was, and I told them, 51.
Their mouths dropped open, and one girl exclaimed, "I would have guessed 39 at the most."
Well, she's getting an A, but I still might not confide in them.

Review -- Best Staged Plans

Teaching seven English composition courses in college sucks up my time like a giant vacuum. I'm either preparing for class or grading essays. So the minutes when I can read for pleasure are stolen gems. Yesterday, I picked up Claire Cook's Best Staged Plans and never looked back, gulping it down like an ice-cold Coke on a sweltering summer day. Afterwards, I felt happy and satisfied, ready to return to my laboriously written English compositions.
The main character, Sandy, wants to get her house ready to put on the market, so she and her husband can pay off the bills of kids in college and a daughter's wedding. Sandy's a home stager, so she's meticulous about preparing the house. She's a little bit like me in that she's frenetic and demanding, glaring at each tree rather than enjoying the walk in the forest. Her husband and adult son aren't helping out the way they should and she's had enough. A trip to Atlanta to stage a boutique hotel helps give her some perspective on life.
A lot happens in this 238-page book as Sandy attempts to corral her life into order when no one seems to be following her directions, not her daughter, her new southern son-in-law who calls her "Mo'am," her best friend or even the guy at the post office. Sandy's time in Atlanta helps her look at the big picture and realize the value of family.
The author also has a link on her website that encourages her readers to donate reading glasses because "Not having reading glasses is the biggest obstacle to disadvantaged people over forty re-entering the workplace."
Pick up this book for the story and it will give you plenty to think about when you're finished.