Of Self-Control In The Midst of It All

(Written with a slight apology for my male readers, although if this helps you understand your wife better, then the apology is rescinded.)

Truly, you should be grateful that you weren't at my house yesterday, in the morning and afternoon, that is, because I was a hormonal mess. 

Cranky, then laughing, then crying, then cranky again. Cranky about what? Well, I tried thinking of what, but could not think of one thing. Hence, the certainty of the hormonal thing. Eegads.

So I knew I'd better eat some of my personal (blood type O) 'highly beneficial foods' listed in Eat Right For Your Blood Type. (That book? All the research I found online, but all in one book. Godsend.)  I snacked on some walnuts and cooked a sweet potato, drank some orange juice and took an extra Vitamin B Complex. Ate fresh fish and brown rice for dinner. I also mowed the lawn (for exercise), took a calming bath and rested often with a very soothing, Southern book called Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt.

And felt much, much better.

In the ten years of my pre-menopausal-ness, these times have come and gone, mostly gone, but when they come, well, they s-q-u-e-e-z-e me until the Real Debra comes out. And oh wow, sometimes she's not as holy as she believes herself to be. Uh-oh.

Of course, it's uncomfortable to go through these hot flashes and mood swings, so one might argue that the Real Me might be sweet if she wasn't being squeezed and broiled and shot-up with moods. So perhaps it becomes more of a test for my self-control. How much self-control have I gained over the years? How important has it become to me to always treat people kindly even if I'm feeling all snippy inside?

Maybe that's the real test in all this, to not use my discomfort as an excuse to rip off your head if you disagree with me, or even, to condemn myself for any apparent 'going backwards' in lessons learned. (With God, there are very few true "I can't help its" allowed.) 

That, and learning to decipher what is real and what certainly is not. Moods and feelings which go from gleeful to sad to I'd-like-slap-somebody-for-no-reason in just fifteen minutes are not real. 

And may I remember that. May I remain kind and self-controlled even in the heat of the next hot flash.




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"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." .. Galations 5:22,23


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I'm feeling much better today, thank-goodness.

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