The Shared Experience, Vol. 2: What My Daughter Saw by the Pool

The Shared Experience vol 2

It happened over Memorial Day weekend.

Our family was gathered by the pool, enjoying one of those rare afternoons where everyone is together and nowhere else needs to be. I was wearing a two-piece swimsuit for the first time since last summer. My skin was warming in the sunshine, adjusting to the heat, and for the first time in a while, I felt good in my body.

Then my 11-year-old daughter looked at me and innocently asked:

“Mom, what’s that piece of tape on your belly?”

For a brief moment, I froze.

I suddenly became aware of the small estrogen patch resting against my skin. A tiny square that felt strangely intimate to explain out loud. I felt a flash of discomfort… even shame. Not because of what it was, but because of what it represented.

Aging.

Change.

Transition.

But then I took a breath and answered honestly.

I explained that the small patch delivers special hormones called estrogen through my skin and into my body. She looked completely perplexed. “How does that even work?” she asked. So I explained how I change it every few days and how these hormones help support my body as I move through perimenopause and menopause.

At 47, I am only at the beginning of this journey, but it already feels deeply emotional. There is something profound about realizing your body is entering another evolution — one that quietly asks you to let go of the possibility of carrying life while simultaneously learning how to care for yourself in an entirely new way.

In many ways, it reminds me of adolescence.

The emotional surges. The hormonal shifts. The feeling that your body is changing faster than your mind can process. Only this time, instead of hormones rushing in, they are slowly fading. And those changes are not abstract. We feel them in our skin, our energy, our sleep, our emotions, our muscles, our intimacy, and our sense of self.

The skin feels less elastic.
The muscles recover more slowly.
The knees ache after a run.
Fine lines appear where smoothness once lived.

And while I cannot say I welcome all of these changes… I am learning not to fear them either.

Instead, I try to meet them with intention.

I pay closer attention now to what I place on my body and what I put into it. I choose nourishment more consciously — colorful fruits, nutrient-dense foods, healthy fats, proteins, movement, rest, sunlight, and hydration. I seek out small rituals that bring me back to myself.

The morning birds outside my window.
A warm cup of coffee or tea before the day begins.
A walk through the neighborhood.
A quiet trail.
A busy city street.
A steep mountain climb.

These moments remind me to stay present.

And when I am present, I feel more at peace with my body, my thoughts, and the hormonal shifts shaping this chapter of life.

Growing up in the ’90s, I was a Madonna girl. I loved flipping through Vogue magazine, fascinated by beauty, femininity, fashion, and the idea of becoming a woman someday. Recently, after that conversation with my daughter, I found myself researching estrogen therapy and stumbled across an article in Vogue titled Why Estrogen Is a Magic Bullet for Your Skin and Vaginal Health.

Oddly enough, reading it felt therapeutic.

It softened the uncomfortable emotions I felt during that moment by the pool and reminded me that aging is not something to hide from — it is something to understand.

Most importantly, it reminded me that none of us should feel ashamed, isolated, or alone during this phase of life.

This is a shared experience.

The good.
The bad.
The emotional.
The uncomfortable.
The beautiful.

We are allowed to talk about it openly. We are allowed to share stories, rituals, ideas, and products that genuinely help us feel supported in our bodies again.

That is part of why Suet’Amor exists.

Not to promise perfection or youth forever, but to honor the evolving body with softness, intention, nourishment, and care.

Because aging is not the end of our femininity.

It is simply another chapter of it