I love my mother. Let's get that straight. I love her. I'd do anything for her. She's been there for me in so many ways all my life. But...

Dad and I have noticed something lately. Her hearing. It's getting bad. REALLY bad. We can say or ask something four and five times before she even looks up and says "huh?"

Dad called me just a little while ago asking to talk to me. First instinct is "oh god what'd I do now?" But it was about mom. He wanted to talk about her to me.

"I just wanted you to know you're not the only one going through this. She's frustrating me too. I was just wondering how to go about... talking to her... What to say..."

"Oh god dad I have no idea..."

"Neither do I," he groaned. "I just don't know what's causing her to act like this..."

"Oh well I think I know. I'm sure I know."

"What? The menopause?"

"Oh yes, she's been getting SO many hot flashes lately, she's crying all the time, she's so short tempered... I know this has got to be part of it."

"She's so much like her dad." (My grandpa was a very angry, very stubborn, right even when he was wrong kind of person.)

"Yeah she is. Obviously I'm not where she could hear me now," I laughed.

"Yeah I'd hope," finally dad laughs.

"That or I'd have a death wish," lol

"Well... Maybe I'll talk to your grandma about this tomorrow."

"NO!"

"You're right she'll throw it back in your mother's face..."

"Why don't you talk to Aunt Donna?" (Dad's sister, six years his senior.)

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean I know they've talked about it before."

"Has she ever... you know... mentioned anything about a... a hysterectomy?"

I kinda half smiled at this and thought God bless him, I know how uncomfortable he is talking about female things. Especially to me.

"Oh no dad, she'd never talk to me about it."

"Well... I guess I'll call Donna."

"That's a really good idea dad."

So now I'm sitting here thinking about it. I know my mom is going through a REALLY hard time right now. I've advised her to start dressing in layers now lol I worked for a woman a few years back with terrible hot flashes, summer nearly killed her.

I know that being my age in the same house with her doesn't help. Because I'm a lot like her in that I'm stubborn. Very. And at my age I'll admit to being a bit of a know it all. I'm not that untypically teen. And trying to start my life with a mother that's clinging to me (I know menopause is having a huge effect on her clinging) is really tough on me, and frustrating on dad. He wants me to go have my life, he's encouraging it. But mom... yeah lol It's hard.

But I don't know how to talk to mom. She doesn't have any female friends here to talk to. She insists she doesn't need anyone, but I know that's not true. Mom's not a socialite but she likes people. And I don't know any women enough my senior to talk to and get advice from. So dad and I are at a loss. Dad doesn't want to talk to anyone about it in case it comes back to mom. I don't have anyone to talk to. (Okay, well Will and Maria have heard my complaints plenty lol But no one HERE.)

So at the moment I'm just trying to figure out what to do. ::sigh:: This is going to be tough time for me and dad the coming years.