Regatta
Regatta season is now almost over, The Rower’s boat did magnificently, and the next stop will be National championships, before the world championships in August.
It hasn’t been quite as much fun as other years, largely, I suspect, because I am a middle-aged menopausal woman, without the same energy or cheerful smile as I had a couple of years ago.
I found it all rather exhausting, although fully recognize that a large part of that is down to my perfectionist tendencies. I couldn’t just show up and cook, I had to devise special menus, and spend days before mixing sauces and marinating chicken (which ended up being delicious, if a little dry).
I didn’t sleep well before the last regatta, and was busy cooking breakfast when a woman came over and asked to have a word. Her daughter’s pancakes tasted of onions, she said. In fact, it was so strong, her daughter took one bite and threw them away. She stood, staring me down, demanding an explanation, and I found myself speechless. So speechless, that rather than risk pointing out that I am a parent volunteer who regularly busts her ass to cook for the team, and all the parents, while she relaxes and watches the races every week, I shrugged and turned my back so I wouldn’t say something I would regret.
This is the problem I have found with going through the menopause. I do not let things go. And the little things I would once have ignored, now fill me with irritation. I should have let it go, but hormones dictated this was not about to happen. HOURS later, I decided to discuss it with her, downed my spatulas and apron, and set about finding her. Steam may or may not have been spouting from my nostrils.
The good news is, I didn’t find her. The better news is that I decided I needed to go home. I may have planned to spend the day cooking, but after seven hours of being on my feet, I thought it best for all concerned if I got in my car and drove the three and a half hours home, preferably listening to something soothing on the radio so Beloved would not be welcoming back the deranged woman who stalked the regatta, jonesing for a fight.
I am now looking forward to a break. And I also need to issue a warning: if, for whatever reason, I happen to do something that makes you unhappy, far better to keep it to yourself for now. Hopefully you can tell me about it in a year or so…
(Details may or may not have been changed to protect the innocent, and my rower, aka THE Rower, is the one in yellow…)
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