Chinos, High Heels, Cougars, and Menopause

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Today my daughter and I went shopping. My goal - "elementary" pants....i.e....chinos comfortable to wear during my internship as an elementary school counselor. My wardrobe presently consists of high school teacher pants, of which I need to wear heels with, and are trendy and fun.

In trying on clothes, I snuck in some denim leggings and a cute dress to wear over it.

I looked in the mirror with a stark reality: leggings on me don't look the same as they did in my twenties, and while I could wear them, they presented me in the frame of a cougar.

Not Cool.
This is not an elementary image I was looking for.

Then I tried on some other clothes and somewhere in the conversation, my daughter said, *Mom, maybe it's because of menopause. *
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This, from the daughter I am about to drop off as a college freshman year.

And this is life at Fortysomething.

Somewhere in between chinos, high heels, cougars, and menopause.

(*Sigh).*