Personal Narrative: The Menstruation Of My Family

The earliest messages I received about menstruation was around the age of five or six. While I was growing up my dad's brother was always on the road due to semi driving and as a result of this his only daughter Courtney often stayed with my family during the week while he was away. Courtney is about five years older than me and I always looked up to her because I only had two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, and they were too young for me to look up to. Although we spent so much time together I vividly remember one day more than others. As she was going to the bathroom, I was sitting on the sink talking to her. As soon as she looked down at the toilet, I remember her crying and yelling for my mom. As my mom ran into the bathroom
and realized what was occurring she asked me to leave the bathroom so she could talk to Courtney alone. Before I could ask any questions, my mom and Courtney ran to the store and I was left at home with my dad.
When they finally got home I asked my mom why Courtney was bleeding from her "privacies" and my mom sat me down and gave me the "talk." She explained to me that girls have to go through this process called menstruation about once a month so we can become a woman and have babies when we get married. She then explained to me why she had to go to the store and what she purchased. She told me she had to buy Courtney things called pads and tampons because my mom no longer had her parts that gave her a period because she had a thing called a hysterectomy when I was four years old, after my sister was born. I quickly gathered the information and wanted to make sure Courtney was ok. I was a little nervous to touch her after the talk, but I just didn't want to hurt
her. The second earliest messages I received in regards to menstruation was in the fifth grade. I remember the week before the thirty minute talk, our teacher, Mr. Edmundson, passed around a permission slip that needed to be signed by our parents in order for us to participate. As the day rolled around our class wasn't split up by gender and our teacher Mr. Edmundson passed around a sheet of paper with the generic information about puberty. He asked us to read the information silently and then he reread the information to all of us and then the talk was over. Looking back I really wish the class would have been split up by gender so everyone would've been more comfortable asking questions. I also wish the teacher for the females in my class would have been a female. I also wish the females were shown how to insert a tampon or put on a pad. I think this information is crucial for a young woman to have so she doesn't feel so insecure, uncomfortable and so she has the proper knowledge regarding menstruation when it happens. When I started menstruation, I felt like I was growing up and was becoming a woman, even though I was only twelve years old.
My period came at the worst time ever though! It's a tradition every Christmas Eve for my parents to buy all three of their kids new pajamas and we put them on so we can sleep better for Santa Claus to come! That Christmas Eve I received the cutest and softest pink pajamas ever. I remember snuggling into bed with them and falling right asleep! As I woke up the next morning eager to see the presents under the Christmas tree, I went to the bathroom first. I realized I had slight lower back pain, but I didn't think anything of it. As I went to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet seat I realized I had started my period! I felt pretty comfortable and knew what to do because my friends started theirs before I did, but I was just upset that I ruined my new pajamas and I didn't want to upset my mom. So I hid the pajamas in an old bag in my closet and changed into other clothes. I went about 3 months before I told my mom I had started my period. I always hid the old wrappers and wrapped the used toiletry in toilet paper before throwing them away. I thought I would disappoint my mom because I ruined my new pajamas, but it turns out when I finally told my mom she was so upset that I felt like I would disappoint her that she went and bought me a new pair of pajamas!! Not the same ones though, of
course! Although I grew up in a home with very open minded parents and very comical parents, I never discussed my period with my father. My father always left the "girl" talks for my sister and I to my mom and my mom always left the "guy" talks for my brother to my dad. Besides that I always felt more comfortable talking to my mom about it because she had been through it and knew exactly what I needed. Although my dad could tell I had started my period because of the obvious toiletries in the trash can, he never asked questions. Even though he never asked questions, when we went to the store and I threw them in the cart, he always laughed and that always made me feel better about the situation. My sister started her period about three months ago and she asked me a series of questions. It felt awesome that she could ask me for advice and help because she trusted me and the information I had. It also made me feel upset at the same time though because she still didn't have the proper information about periods and tampons before she started it. It frustrates me to no end that a fourteen year old girl doesn't have the correct information about menstruation in 2014. Menstruation is a part of every female's life's and if my sister didn't have an older sister who would she have asked and felt comfortable in doing so?