Today is another hot day. I know that being in Maine near the water provides me with more relief than most but the humidity and heat have felt daunting this summer. I think some of my discomfort is probably related to the hormonal changes ravaging my body but a fair bit is because it is damn hot.

A few words on peri-menopause. It is hideous. Sweating, bloating, weight gain, impaired memory, word finding issues, despondency, cramps, bleeding, erratic temperature swings, fatigue. It is another shameful secret horror that women don’t readily talk about. It takes its toll and I am, once again, shocked and how little we hear about it. My mom never discussed it with me. I vaguely remember her yelling at me for absolutely no reason one night when I was a teen and looking at my dad for support. He shrugged his shoulders and wordlessly indicated that he didn’t understand either but it was probably best I just take it and not fight back. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been kinder to my mom. I wouldn’t have considered talking back. I would have handed her a fan, a glass of wine, and a chocolate bar and told her she was beautiful.

I did a bike ride today down Foster’s Point Rd. in West Bath. It is partly shaded and offers views of the New Meadows River, pastures and pretty old farm houses. Even in this heat, the bike provides a constant breeze and it is so much fun. The humid air felt soft when I was cutting through it on the bike and the smell of ocean and fresh cut hay was intoxicating. I returned to the condo pretty worn out after 20 miles, but Sophie had not had her walk and made it clear that was expected and imminent.

I tossed her in the car with a water bottle and drove to Woodward Point to give her a chance to run in the fields. The pasture was being hayed and Sophie was beside herself that she could now see into and enter the fields that had previously been a wall of tall grass. I let her run and we made our way down to the water.

Sophie didn’t hesitate to get wet. She walked into the water and submerged herself as much as she could while leashed to me. I had my sneakers on and didn’t feel like taking them off, so she couldn’t get very far. I let her play in the water until the sun started to bake me. Sophie and I shared the water bottle and walked back to the car. During our walk, Sophie managed to get every weird bit of nature stuck to her salty, muddy, body. I called ahead and asked Parker to meet me at the front door with a towel because I knew that this outing would only end in one way. Sophie was due for a bath.