The past few days have lured us with the promise of spring.

And it’s been great! The first sign of spring changes everything. The bear comes out of hibernation and shakes off the winter doldrums and the menopausal woman, who we know is north of 45, becomes a young girl again.

Like a hibernating bear, we're leaving our caves and shedding our winter layers.

That transformation makes everything worthwhile. Like the bear we tend to pile on the layers of warming and really thick protection making us resemble a more lethargic and slower moving creature for our winter vigil. Even our head gets slower and slower feels older.

On that first warm, sunny day – that day when we can shed some layers and feel the sun’s rays penetrate our whole being – we come alive again. And it’s the best feeling! And it’s the same feeling we’ve felt our whole life – age notwithstanding.

Suddenly we’re younger and sexier and we can judge from the reaction of those around us that we appear younger and sexier. How does that happen? I know for a fact that I still have to shed that unwanted winter weight creep! My face sure as hell isn’t looking any younger – damn that magnifying mirror required to keep make-up more subtle and less Chucky Cheese!  How is that same woman able to transform into a creature who feels better and gets more appreciation from others? Simple – it’ our attitude. Our attitude is what people see when they look at us.

Most of us are smart enough to know that and yet so few of us have been able to take control of our errant attitude. Damn we could be so powerful if we could.

Leopard pants...a sign of confidence, or just bad judgement?

Now you might say that’s not true. That if a woman looks like crap that’s what we’ll see – but those in the know will tell you that a woman who’s feeling good about herself will not make herself look like crap. And frankly, the very few women who are able to control their own attitude are often ostracized as vain or narcissistic – but are we just jealous? To some degree we are, although sometimes it has more to do with the choices they make both physically and interpersonally (skin tight leopard pants will never pass muster but might still be preferable to an impeccably dressed snob) either way they are in an enviable position. Good choices or bad they are closer to ruling their own destiny than the rest of us.

So unable to harness the ability to shape our own attitude, the rest of us are destined to wait for those rare moments (getting more rare every year) that enable us to make the leap back to youthful exuberance – even for a short while.