I Am Thankful for My Period

I don't understand why it is such a shameful thing to discuss.  

I have seen advertisements on television, in magazines, and on public transportation for erectile disfunction medication.

"Hey, grandpa, want to have sex but your body has decided that you're too old?  Here's a pill, because your life only has meaning if you're having regular sex for the rest of your life, literally until the day you die."

Right, totally appropriate.

But if I say I'm in constant snacking mode, or I'm feeling extra cranky or emotional because my period is approaching, even if I use a euphemism, "it's that time of the month," it's inappropriate.  

Why?

The female menstrual cycle is not only normal, it is wonderful.  It tells you your body is working.  It starts everything clean and fresh again.  I remember when doctors first started offering a birth control pill that would allow you to only have four periods a year, and I thought, "why on earth would anyone want to do that?"  

I have been on the worst birth control pill for the last few months and as a result haven't had a period.  I have just felt incomplete.  

But perhaps this has something to do with my basically cyclical personality.  I like the beginning of the week as much as I enjoy the end of it.  I like the early morning as much as the late night.  I take comfort in both the prepping and cooking of a meal as much as in the cleaning and looking around my sparkly kitchen afterward.  I look forward to beginnings and I savor the final moments.  Of everything.

For me, a period is a fresh start, a washing away of a long month of hard work, preparation for a new, better month to come.  

A month without a period is like a week with no weekend.  Week after week of Monday through Friday with no Saturday and Sunday to reflect on the week, prepare for a new one, think of ways to improve on the progress you made the week before.

My period also allows me to cry just for the hell of it, which can be a hell of a release.  I enjoy chocolate on a different level.  I sleep better at this time of the month, heavier, waking up more rested.  

So I have to deal with blood.  Big deal.  

Yes, for those of you who know me, I'm not a fan of blood, the exact opposite in fact.

But for the benefits that come along, the small mess is resoundingly worth it.  

Oh, you say, how can you devote an entire blog post to something so personal, so private, something that should be so discreet?

This is one taboo subject that I think needs to come out of the closet.  I have a daughter.  Someday I am going to need to explain to her the basics of the female menstrual period, and I want that conversation to be matter of fact, congratulatory even.  Welcome to the world of womanhood. 

This is not Carrie.  Girls should not be terrified, horrified, or, worst of all, shocked the first time they menstruate.  They should be encourage to ask questions, to develop normally, unhindered by the expectations of an intolerant and hypocritical society.   Menstruation is not a choice.  Every woman experiences it.  

If Miley Cyrus can dry hump a stage and great grandpas everywhere can read erectile disfunction ads on city busses, I can celebrate my period.

Please feel free to join me.