Men however, cannot. It was no shock when Dad began complaining about the heat, I thought he was aiming to prove the existence of global warming. What I did not expect was the stomach pains, weight consciousness and sudden interest in the plot of Brothers and Sisters- which, by the way, is as much of an emotional roller coaster as menopause itself. I've heard of sympathy pregnancy- in fact I often get a chuckle out of the image of my dad singing to his inflated belly- but sympathy menopause has never been on telly, so of course I had no way of knowing it existed.
After much consultation with other dad-havers*, it has become apparent that my situation is not an isolated incident. Universally, dad's are struggling with sleep deprivation, mood swings and general grumpiness. I'm not sure if this phenomenon is a mid-life crisis for those who think that it is poor taste to drive a red sports car whilst wearing leopard print or is just sympathy for the women in their lives. I'm likely to believe the latter. I mean, Dad has achieved offspring of this calibre... Crisis averted.
Having come to the conclusion that Dad was going through sympathy menopause for Mum, I thought I'd show him some support and get some sympathy symptoms of my own. I stormed through the house yelling about cleaning products, cried during Australia's Got Talent and began** eating twice the amount of food anybody should ever consume. Judging from the response I received, Dad was after no moral support. Bloody trooper.
This is for Dads; the silent sufferers. May your phantom uterine pains leave as quickly as my dignity did when I mentioned watching Brothers and Sisters.
*Read: one conversation with a friend.
**Read: continued.
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