Help! I'm growing barnacles.

As an informed woman I thought I knew about all the things that would happen to my body in menopause. One thing I didn't hear anything about were the unusual growths I would develop. I affectionately call them my barnacles. They're those wonderful things that grow on the sides of ships and now they're growing on me!

It seems like every week I discover a new growth. At first I was pretty alarmed. I called the dermatologist and demanded he see me right away. I was sure I had a runaway case of skin cancer.  He calmed my nerves, going from one spot to another describing skin tags, moles, age spots and a few other things that I can't pronounce. Why does this happen? How can I stop them?

Without a sizeable budget for laser resurfacing, I'm stuck with the little fellows. I'm learning to regard them as badges of honor. My mother, bless her heart, died when she was only 49. She never got the chance to experience menopause. So as I go through these changes, I say "thanks for the opportunity" to experience life, warts and all. . . or in my case, barnacles and all!