One of the negatives of menopause is the difficulty in making decisions. I used to be able to weigh up my options relatively quickly and make a decision quite easily. Now it can take days and even then I’m still not certain I’ve made the right choice.

Take tomorrow’s acupuncture treatment. I really want to go. It’d be great to feel balanced, which is what acupuncture does, before going to France. Since it snowed I’ve been worrying about getting to my appointment. My car is surrounded by thick ice beneath deep snow. The lanes are sheet ice. I considered walking. I’d prefer that over driving in this, but time isn’t on my side. Walking back in pitch darkness in these conditions isn’t my idea of fun.

I bumped into a neighbour on my way for my walk and he advised running the engine for 15 minutes to get everything flowing again. Sounds a bit like vehicular acupuncture. While the car was warming I decided to clear some of the ice and snow, it’d be a good workout. A friendly woman pushing a pram with 2 toddlers passed and we chatted. She said she’d cancelled all her appointments and didn’t understand why her husband insisted on going to work (!!) She recounted how he’d almost crashed going down the lane and struggled with driving every day. She said she wouldn’t bother.

As she left, I thought sod it, but I kept digging and stabbing at the hard packed ice. I gave up, then kept going. A neighbour walked over and offered to help me. He started attacking the ice with his shovel. After a few minutes, the path looked much clearer. He volunteered to wait so he could help if I got stuck. To my delight, I got the car moving. I thanked him profusely. He asked if I played the harp. I said I did and asked how he knew, could he hear me?! No, a friend of his had been for a few lessons with me.

And that, dear readers, is the end of this episode. The moral of the story? You tell me!