First Period Story...
In December of 1997 I went to the bathroom and saw a faint pink stain. Oh. My. Gawd!!!!!!! I instantly felt every emotion, relief, panic, excitement, anxiety, a brief moment of fear- I knew what periods were but it suddenly slipped my mind and for a split second all I could think was this is it... I am dying. Then I hit an even bigger brick wall, bigger than the fear of death. Oh no, how do I tell my mom?! Yikes...
My mom never sat my down and discussed periods or sex with me. I instead learned from a Girl Scout badge project when I was in 4th grade- so a year prior. My mom had had a hysterectomy and didn't have periods anymore and I hadn't had the talk yet at school where they handed out samples. What was a girl to do?
I choose to keep silent. For three, 3!!, agonizing days I spotted very mildly. Part of me wanted it to get heavier so I knew for sure what it was and the other part prayed it would just go AWAY and not ruin my birthday, which falls on December 22nd.
Well I got the latter wish. After three days it went away. For the two days following I would go to the bathroom every chance I had. Nothing. I figured it was a fluke.
Fast forward to May 1998...
It was the most fun week of the school year. A to Z day (like the schools version of the Olympics) a trip to the zoo and the class picnic at the park. And because we were 5th graders we got approved to have a water balloon fight with the teachers. It was going to be the best week of the entire school year.
The day before A to Z day...
I was in my parents bedroom watching Full House and I felt wet all of a sudden. I tried to calmly walk to the bathroom that was literally 5 ft away. But I knew... I pulled down and pants and this time there was no faint pink stain about it. It was a blood red spot in my panties. There was no getting out it this time. And could the timing have been worse?!
I went through the same emotions as I did back in December. But this time we had already had the "Menstruation" talk by the school nurse and I had samples! I went and got one and put it on. Then I very discretely rolled the wrapper in about 15 paper towels and buried it in the tiny trash can in the bathroom.
I walked the walk of doom to the kitchen where my mom was cooking. She took one look at me and asked "whats wrong?!". I chickened out. I couldn't do it, I couldn't tell her. So I just played it cool with this really stupid smile plastered on my face that screamed I did something...
Well the family got through dinner and then I went and hid in my bedroom until my parents came in to kiss me good night. Out of no where I got a surge of bravery and as she was turning off my bedroom light I dove under the covers and said I got my period. Light back on! Oh no... she was going to want to talk about it... I was horrified.
She couldn't stop smiling and beaming and just looking at me in this utterly creepy way. (I fully intend to do the same with my daughters. After all it is a proud moment. But when you are 11 and you social life is crashing in around you it doesn't feel so momentous).
But.. as it turned out it wasn't so bad. I was the first of my friends to get it and they treated me like I was a cross between a queen and a professor of all things "woman". I did sit out of the water balloon fight, but so did all my friends with me. :). They were all asking a million questions and I was the only one, or so it seemed, who had all the knowledge. <3
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