A tale of two Periods

“That Girl” started this…so here is the story of MY first time….

My period story is short and simple really… nothing to exciting happened to me….

I was thirteen, living in Boston, just me and my mom. I woke up late one night to go to the bathroom, pulled down my draws, and freaked out. *laughs* I’m still not sure WHY I freaked, considering I knew quite well what was going on, but I think that I didn’t expect it to be quite so…bloody. I went and woke my mother up in tears, confessing that I was scared because I was bleeding. We went into the bathroom, she took one look, and said ‘ Girl, that is your menses’ (my mom being a nurse was a real stickler for using the right words….) I put on one of those nasty nasty pads (diapers anyone???) and went back to sleep.

I suffered through wearing those diapers for almost 3 years, until my mother lightened up one the whole ‘Muslim women have to let the blood flow OUT of them thing’ and finally got my first pack of tampons. I’m proud to say that I have managed to convert her too… though it took almost ten years to do it.

My most traumatic periodic incident wasn’t even my own. During the pre-freshman program that I went to, I lived in an all girls dorm. I had left the room with some friends, and walked back in to see my roommate showing one of her friends how to insert a tampon. Mind you to me it was rather easy – open. push – pull – you’re done. However for her and her friend it turned into a 20 minute examination and repeat insertion process…. it was one of the oddest things I had ever seen.