In Praise of Post-Menopausal Women

A friend of mine has a theory that all post-menopausal women should, in evolutionary terms, be dead. We can't reproduce, so what's the point,  is her point. (She's in her sixties herself.)

Maybe so--in theory, per Darwin (who had a beloved aging wife)--but I find myself cheering every time a new volunteer in her post-menopausal years shows up at the Berkeley Food Pantry. 

Because I know she'll show up.

She'll be stalwart, reliable, good-humored, and experienced.  She'll have fewer demands on her time and more focus than a woman who is younger and has children.  Or a younger woman who is unemployed and helping out at the Pantry until she finds a job. Or both.  She won't have midterms, finals, or Spring Break.

We've had some stellar volunteers who were younger: unemployed people and students, but one day they have to leave to go back to school or to a new job.  A sad day when they go.

My friend Judy and I , both in our sixties, have shown up at the Pantry on Mondays for nearly four years. Each of us travels occasionally, so there are a few gaps, but by and large, we're there.  And every time a sister-post-menopausal woman shows up as a new volunteer, we cheer. We don't care what Mother Nature has in mind, we want her.

At the pantry, from left to right:  Pat, who just got a job; Judy; and Maria, who's gone back to high school

A new volunteer who fits the bill, Barbara, showed up at the Pantry a few weeks ago.  I plan to make her a name tag and ask her if she can replace dear Pat and help me at the client check-in table.