(There is an explanation for this conversation at the bottom of the page if you're interested, but could be classified as "TMI".)
This occurred when Todd and I were speaking on the couch in the living room while Lilyanna was playing on the floor nearby. She was being loud enough in her play that I didn't realize she was listening.
Lilyanna: Momma, what does "horny" mean?
Me: [sotto voce muttering at being heard] It means something has a lot of horns.
Lilyanna: But you don't have a lot of horns, Momma. You said you were horny. What else does it mean?
Me: The other meaning isn't really polite for little girls to talk about, but I promise we discuss it when you are older.
Lilyanna: Like when I'm six?
Me: Probably twelve.
Todd: At this rate, maybe ten...
Me: Twelve.
Lilyanna: I think when I'm seven.
Me: Twelve.
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Why did nobody warn me of the crazy hormonal surge that would happen as I approached 40??? Oh my goodness, for months I've had to have this constant mantra running through my head as I go out into the world, "It is NOT OKAY to grab strange men from off the sidewalk/in the store aisle/anydarnplace and have your way with them, Emilia! It is NOT OKAY!" My body, however, does not seem to have gotten the memo. Good grief, this is crazy! It is way worse than teenage-hood, and that is saying something. (To be clear, no strangers have been grabbed thus far. So my brain is winning.) Still, I'm walking around in a nearly chronic hormonal miasma.
I heard on the radio last week that there is a new medication for women who suffer the opposite problem at this age and later I said to Todd, "Can you imagine if I took that medicine right now?? I would never let you leave the house!!"
Ugh.
Anyway, as I was discussing this with a similarly aged friend on Friday night, she was so happy that it wasn't just her, and I was equally relieved for the same reason. Another friend overheard our conversation and said, "Oh, I have something that could help with that." And all I could do was blink at her as I realized that I don't really want help with it. Is it distracting to be this randy at all times? Yes. But it's also kind of fun. And my similarly affected friend agreed. I don't know what this says about either one of us, except that if we're going to have to go through these crazy hormonal changes, we might as well enjoy them.
The realization makes me suddenly more compassionate towards people who suffer from manic depression. The depression part sucks, but the highs are just so high! Who would want to give that up? (I don't advocate not taking prescribed medication if you and your doctor think it will help you be able to function best in life, but I get not wanting to take the medicine.)
I assume that this will all crash at some point. Or perhaps it will just gradually trickle down. Either way, the meantime I will continue to appreciate this little part of being alive and in reasonably good health.
However, I apparently do need to be a little more circumspect about where I relate these stories to Todd. Because Lilyanna listens a little too well sometimes....
This occurred when Todd and I were speaking on the couch in the living room while Lilyanna was playing on the floor nearby. She was being loud enough in her play that I didn't realize she was listening.
Lilyanna: Momma, what does "horny" mean?
Me: [sotto voce muttering at being heard] It means something has a lot of horns.
Lilyanna: But you don't have a lot of horns, Momma. You said you were horny. What else does it mean?
Me: The other meaning isn't really polite for little girls to talk about, but I promise we discuss it when you are older.
Lilyanna: Like when I'm six?
Me: Probably twelve.
Todd: At this rate, maybe ten...
Me: Twelve.
Lilyanna: I think when I'm seven.
Me: Twelve.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why did nobody warn me of the crazy hormonal surge that would happen as I approached 40??? Oh my goodness, for months I've had to have this constant mantra running through my head as I go out into the world, "It is NOT OKAY to grab strange men from off the sidewalk/in the store aisle/anydarnplace and have your way with them, Emilia! It is NOT OKAY!" My body, however, does not seem to have gotten the memo. Good grief, this is crazy! It is way worse than teenage-hood, and that is saying something. (To be clear, no strangers have been grabbed thus far. So my brain is winning.) Still, I'm walking around in a nearly chronic hormonal miasma.
I heard on the radio last week that there is a new medication for women who suffer the opposite problem at this age and later I said to Todd, "Can you imagine if I took that medicine right now?? I would never let you leave the house!!"
Ugh.
Anyway, as I was discussing this with a similarly aged friend on Friday night, she was so happy that it wasn't just her, and I was equally relieved for the same reason. Another friend overheard our conversation and said, "Oh, I have something that could help with that." And all I could do was blink at her as I realized that I don't really want help with it. Is it distracting to be this randy at all times? Yes. But it's also kind of fun. And my similarly affected friend agreed. I don't know what this says about either one of us, except that if we're going to have to go through these crazy hormonal changes, we might as well enjoy them.
The realization makes me suddenly more compassionate towards people who suffer from manic depression. The depression part sucks, but the highs are just so high! Who would want to give that up? (I don't advocate not taking prescribed medication if you and your doctor think it will help you be able to function best in life, but I get not wanting to take the medicine.)
I assume that this will all crash at some point. Or perhaps it will just gradually trickle down. Either way, the meantime I will continue to appreciate this little part of being alive and in reasonably good health.
However, I apparently do need to be a little more circumspect about where I relate these stories to Todd. Because Lilyanna listens a little too well sometimes....
1 comment:
Have you ever watched the movie "Coal Miner's Daughter?" It is a biopic about the country singer Loretta Lynn. In what I believe is a true story, when she first started touring to promote her first album she and her husband were driving around the country and he said something about being horny, and she didn't know what it meant. So he told her it meant cutting up, acting goofy. A few days later she was being interviewed on the air and said, "Oh, he and I get a little horny driving around the country..." and was shocked when the station owner stormed in all upset about her polluting the public airwaves with filth. (It was a simpler time, of course.)
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