I hope that, by now, you’re all snuggled on the sofa in your favourite pjs and slipper socks and ready to watch the X Factor in all its full on craziness. December brings a lot of positive thoughts for me, although that’s not always been the case. Surprisingly, for many years, I was always of the “Bah! Humbug!” clan but recently times have changed and I am decking my halls and tucking into mince pies like there’s no tomorrow.
I love the positivity of Christmas. The sparkling wrapping paper, the first flurries of snow and the whimsical delight in getting a Starbucks Christmas drink. For me, nothing says Christmas like a good old fashioned turkey sarnie and an afternoon of card writing in front of me.
This year has been an odd one for me. “Year of the Brain Transplant”, I’ve been calling it. You see, long gone is the disorganised chick who leaves her lecture notes at home and forgets to always have change for the bus. Nope, I am now a fully fledged member of the Grown-Up Girls Society (if such a thing exists!)
This Christmas I am celebrating the difference between myself last year and myself now. This time last year I started to notice my body not working right- I was so tired it was unreal, I’d constantly be hot, have trouble sleeping and would experience worrying hair loss. For the sake of my barnet, if nothing else, I finally took myself to the doctors in January. After almost twelve months, I can safely say I am done with blood tests and operations. Thanks to a few doctors who actually believed me and the warmth of friends and family, I am confident that I won’t let menopause get me done. And yes, you read that right. At age 22 and a half, I’m going through something women twice my age go through. Whilst I’ve dealt with the issues surrounding fertility, it’s often the smaller things that get me down. I find myself crying when Little Mix sing a ballad or when we have no hot chocolate left. I feel sad every single time I see more hair falling out and I am so sick of waxing my legs that, quite frankly, I’d happily look like a gorilla for the rest of my life.
Quite a few people have told me to write about it but I’ve always been concerned it would hurt me to much to speak out. Whilst I don’t intend on turning Florals and Cupcakes into a blog for me to moan about hot flushes and the lack of Dairy Milk in the fridge, I do intend on upping the pace into the new year.
2012 holds some remarkable things for me. First off, I’ll be celebrating five years with my other half of the 6th of Jan. I think a good Italian meal and breakfast in bed is in store! The 7th of January will see me wave goodbye to my love as I head off to London for two whole weeks to intern at More! magazine. And then there’s the holiday in September, not to mention a planned spa day in March and the inevitable fun of summer.
I feel like I’ve left Florals and Cupcakes to the side a little, lately. And for that, I feel bad. But I’m still here and still want to bring you some beautiful finds from the high street and online. I’m always available on Twitter (@hollieanneb) and there’s the Floral Wishes Tumblr too (www.floralwishes.tumblr.com)
And as there’s still a few weeks until Christmas, I’m going to be compiling some gift guides to get you through (including a super-luxe gift guide for all those dreamers, like myself, who love a bit of excess!)
Tags: 2012, christmas, christmas gift guide, early menopause, menopause, personal, update
