My Menopause Blog: Nouns

I have to do some public speaking this evening at the launch of the Breast of Canada calendar which I publish.

Public speaking rates at the top of this list: Things That Rack My Nerves.

And yet I continue to put myself in situations that involve being on the stage.

I've noticed that besides my missing period, I seem to have lost or perhaps misplaced my stash of nouns. Normally, I just bash around the bush, searching for the word that escapes me until I find it, describe the item well enough for someone to guess what I'm talking about or simply change the subject. This works well enough in conversation. But in the arena of public speaking, depending on the audience, a missing noun can be death.

Take this for example: "Thanks for joining me this evening as we launch the paper thing I publish that is used to keep track of time and your dentist appointments."

See what I mean? Very nerve racking.

Sue Richards