Last week, I was frantically looking for an old notebook I had scribbled important notes from an online class. I went to my home office where I stored all my old notebooks \u2013 it wasn\u2019t there. I went to the bedroom where I stored all our personal documents \u2013 it wasn\u2019t there. As I was shuffling from one room to another, I kept asking my husband if he had seen it with a quickfire of phrases in rapid succession: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave you seen it?\u201d \u201cI normally place it here.\u201d \u201cI was just reading it the other day.\u201d \u201cAre you sure you didn\u2019t set it aside?\u201d \u201cDo you think the cleaners put it away?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This went on for the whole day until in my desperation, I decided to look into a drawer where I kept Coca-Cola memorabilia. And lo and behold, it was there. I found myself groaning: \u201cMata kasi ang gamitin sa paghahanap, hindi bibig!\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (Use your eyes to look for things, not your mouth!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when it hit me \u2013 menopause had officially turned me into my mother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing up with a Filipino mom meant hearing a steady loop of iconic one-liners: some wise, some terrifying, all unforgettable. Little did I know that years later, I’d be muttering these same lines\u2026 in the throes of menopause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the best (and most unexpected) meno-moments, narrated by my mom\u2019s greatest hits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. \u201cLumalaki kang paurong.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation: You\u2019re growing up \u2013 but in the wrong direction.<\/em> 2. \u201cMadaling araw na, gising ka pa!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation: It\u2019s almost dawn, why are you still awake?!<\/em> 3. \u201cWag kang palaging puyat, nakakatanda ‘yan.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation: Don\u2019t stay up late, it ages you.<\/em> 4. \u201cPapunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation: You\u2019re just on your way there, but I\u2019m already on my way back.<\/em> 5. \u201cMagpasalamat ka at hindi mo pa nararanasan ang mga pinagdaanan ko.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translation: Be thankful you haven\u2019t gone through what I have.<\/em> Our moms may not have had the words for \u201cperimenopause\u201d or \u201chormonal health,\u201d but their tough love and timeless lines now echo with new meaning. This Mother’s Day, I’m thanking my mom \u2014 not just for the years of guidance, but for unknowingly equipping me with the perfect script for this midlife transformation. Each sassy phrase and stern warning was actually advanced training for the biological obstacle course ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To all the daughters entering this sweaty, forgetful, emotional rollercoaster: Your mother’s voice in your head isn’t just nostalgia, it’s your survival guide. And to all the mothers who wondered if we were listening: We were. We just didn’t know how much we’d need your words until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s raise a glass of wine, water or collagen tea. We’re not just celebrating mothers this year\u2014we’re becoming them, one hot flash and forgotten grocery item at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, I was frantically looking for an old notebook I had scribbled important notes from an online…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,28,13],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[9],"class_list":{"0":"post-579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-menopause","8":"category-midlife","9":"category-personal"},"authors":[{"term_id":9,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jvinculado73","display_name":"Jasmin Vinculado","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1a.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1a.jpg"},"author_category":"","first_name":"Jasmin","last_name":"Vinculado","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":581,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions\/581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.secondspringph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Menopause edition:<\/strong> Said lovingly to myself while feeling like it\u2019s puberty all over again: Irritability, mood swings and being irrationally angry at hormonal acne\u2026 really?!?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menopause edition:<\/strong> Because my hormones decided to party and Insomnia is the DJ.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menopause edition:<\/strong> Mommy, I\u2019m trying but my body insists on doing a 3AM temperature spike and now my brain is insisting I forgot something I can\u2019t remember.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menopause edition:<\/strong> I\u2019m told the symptoms will eventually go away and like a caterpillar out of a cocoon, I will emerge like a\u2026\u2026.. I really don\u2019t care, just make it STOP already.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menopause edition:<\/strong> A line I will reserve for younger women who think \u201cPMS is the worst.\u201d Just wait, hija.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n