Being told you’re “geriatric.”
At a recent appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist (RE) the office manager told me I was “geriatric.” If you’re a woman, as soon as you hit your thirties, you’re OBGYN will remind you that your biological clock is ticking. After 35, after 6 months of trying, they’ll start prodding you with needles and throwing weird hormonal numbers at you. The older you are, every RE without fail will remind you of scary statistics. If you’ve had enough being reminded of your aging rotten eggs, and you feel young in spirit and outlook, join me on my journey. I am starting this blog tonight while drinking a cup of overbearingly sweet Chinese herbal fertility tea. Toast with me with a non-alcoholic beverage to being ageless.
I am inviting you to think of yourself as an ageless woman. An ageless woman refuses to be defined by a number. Or if you’re trying to conceive, you will refuse to be intimidated by a series of numbers. Nothing, not my brown age spots or fine lines around my eyes or a few stray gray hairs has made me more aware of my age than my fertility journey. I am one of those people who went around for years telling everyone I turned 28 again and I’d invite people to my 28 again celebrations. I reluctantly decided to age myself up a bit based on the company i found myself in – sometimes i was a comfortable 34 and other times I felt like 36 sounded like an appropriate age for me as a career mom. I doubt I’ll turn 40 for a while and then I’ll probably celebrate my 40th indefinitely till I feel like 50’s the new 40…. Let me reassure you, my first baby three years ago was also an advanced maternal age. So if your fear is your age, not being able to conceive, being an old mom, join my ageless mama club. I don’t look old and I don’t feel old, and I’m not going to let fear of a number or any stats rule over my faith and hope!
March marks the 15 month of trying for baby #2. This journey to give our little miracle boy a brother or sister has humbled me and brought me to my knees. I now understand the longing and pain that so many of us experience in silence. That is why I have decided to share my journey publicly as well.