My Brain Left. Didn't Even Leave a Note.

There I was. Standing in the kitchen. Holding a jar of peanut butter.

No idea why.

Not like, "oh I forgot" ... more like the thought had never existed in the first place. A complete and total void where an intention used to be. My brain didn't drop the ball. It left the stadium, got in a cab, and went to the airport.

Welcome to perimenopause, baby.

We need to talk about this more, because nobody warned me. I was prepared for the hot flushes (sort of). I was not prepared to forget the word for refrigerator mid-sentence and stand there saying "the... cold... food... cupboard" to my very patient, very confused hubby!

Or to read the same paragraph four times and retain absolutely nothing. Or to walk into a room with the energy of someone who absolutely has a purpose, only to stand there looking like a very confident lost person.

Here's what I've learned though: your brain hasn't gone. It's renovating.

Turns out, a lot of the foggy, floaty, where-was-I business is your brain adapting to a massive hormonal shift. It's not broken. It's just processing, like seventeen browser tabs open at once with the wifi dropping in and out. Is that comforting? Marginally. Does it help when you're mid-sentence in a meeting and the word you need just... evaporates? Debatable..

But here's what does help:

Not pretending you're fine when you're not. Laughing at yourself before someone else does (and then laughing with them too, honestly). Moving your body even when it feels ridiculous. Sleeping when you can. Drinking your water. Talking to other women who get it.

You are not losing your mind.

You are changing. Loudly, inconveniently, sometimes hilariously, but changing nonetheless.

But honestly? The new version has less patience for BS and a much clearer sense of what - and who - actually deserves her energy. Is she a little chaotic right now? Absolutely. Is chaos underrated? We think yes. Lean into it. Laugh at it. The women who laugh at this stuff together are the ones getting through it with their sanity (mostly) intact.

Ooh La V is here for all of it, the foggy days, the funny stories, and the women who refuse to go quietly into any phase of life. Stick around. 💛