The Day I Became a Woman...
This is dedicated to a friend who blurted her story out on Twitter last night. She has since deleted that tweet but the Library of Congress and I know the truth.
*ahem*
So last night's 'Mad Men' inspired me to think about my own awful moment that happens to Sally Draper in her white tights, white cotton underwear, and white go-go boots.
I will never look at go-go boots the same way again.
The memory that I verified with my mother via email this morning is this.
My parents went out of town for the weekend. They did this like one weekend every 1-2 months because my father was in golf club. I was 14 years old and in the 8th grade. There was always the option of staying home, but one or two of my stepsisters being there would have made me uncomfortable (long story for another blog post).
Anyway, I stayed weekends with many family and family friends, but this particular weekend was allocated to my Aunt & Uncle's home in a neighboring city. I remember no details of the weekend other than the experience I'm writing about but I'm sure we did the following (because we always did the following):
Order food from the Mexican joint down the street.
Watched a Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood vigilante vengeance flick.
Listened to my aunt & uncle bicker.
Watched "60 Minutes:" & "Murder She Wrote" on Sunday night.
Anyway, that Saturday night I went to the bathroom, looked down, realized what was happening, and then silently FREAKED. I freaked because I wasn't at home, I was scared, and I wanted my mom to tell me what to do. Sounds familiar right? I think that's why I loved the Sally running for home and mother part of last night's "Mad Men" episode so much. That and I really appreciated the hesitancy that Betty had when Sally embraced her. I'm digressing again. Great work by an actress that until this season always underwhelmed me.
Okay, so I leave the bathroom and tell my aunt who asked me if I needed a tampon or a pad to which my horrified answer was, "Pad!" This remained my standard answer for about a year but that's another story too and probably not one that any man wants to read. After figuring out what I was doing and emerging from the bathroom yet again, my aunt asked me if I was okay and I said something along the lines of, "Well, it's my first one."
Silence.
My aunt asks, "This is your first period ever? You've never had one before?"
I shake my head.
She begins to cry.
In reality, this story should be titled, "The Day My Aunt Cried Because I Became a Woman".
She also used this amazing experience (for her) to make my mother feel like less a mom and she more a mom because she was there which is funny in hindsight but typical of my aunt. She's a very manipulative person.
The coda to this tale:
Once alone with my mother and telling the whole sordid tale, her first response:
"I'm surprised she had tampons and pads since she had a hysterectomy years ago."
Sisters.
Anyway, I disagree with the whole "today you became a woman" thing because I don't feel your first period is that moment. I think that the moment you become a woman is when you recognize the power of your sexuality over a man (or a woman if that's your thing). This didn't happen for me until I was 21 and I reveled in the discovery and recognition of that power.
That's just me though.
*ahem*
So last night's 'Mad Men' inspired me to think about my own awful moment that happens to Sally Draper in her white tights, white cotton underwear, and white go-go boots.
I will never look at go-go boots the same way again.
The memory that I verified with my mother via email this morning is this.
My parents went out of town for the weekend. They did this like one weekend every 1-2 months because my father was in golf club. I was 14 years old and in the 8th grade. There was always the option of staying home, but one or two of my stepsisters being there would have made me uncomfortable (long story for another blog post).
Anyway, I stayed weekends with many family and family friends, but this particular weekend was allocated to my Aunt & Uncle's home in a neighboring city. I remember no details of the weekend other than the experience I'm writing about but I'm sure we did the following (because we always did the following):
Order food from the Mexican joint down the street.
Watched a Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood vigilante vengeance flick.
Listened to my aunt & uncle bicker.
Watched "60 Minutes:" & "Murder She Wrote" on Sunday night.
Anyway, that Saturday night I went to the bathroom, looked down, realized what was happening, and then silently FREAKED. I freaked because I wasn't at home, I was scared, and I wanted my mom to tell me what to do. Sounds familiar right? I think that's why I loved the Sally running for home and mother part of last night's "Mad Men" episode so much. That and I really appreciated the hesitancy that Betty had when Sally embraced her. I'm digressing again. Great work by an actress that until this season always underwhelmed me.
Okay, so I leave the bathroom and tell my aunt who asked me if I needed a tampon or a pad to which my horrified answer was, "Pad!" This remained my standard answer for about a year but that's another story too and probably not one that any man wants to read. After figuring out what I was doing and emerging from the bathroom yet again, my aunt asked me if I was okay and I said something along the lines of, "Well, it's my first one."
Silence.
My aunt asks, "This is your first period ever? You've never had one before?"
I shake my head.
She begins to cry.
In reality, this story should be titled, "The Day My Aunt Cried Because I Became a Woman".
She also used this amazing experience (for her) to make my mother feel like less a mom and she more a mom because she was there which is funny in hindsight but typical of my aunt. She's a very manipulative person.
The coda to this tale:
Once alone with my mother and telling the whole sordid tale, her first response:
"I'm surprised she had tampons and pads since she had a hysterectomy years ago."
Sisters.
Anyway, I disagree with the whole "today you became a woman" thing because I don't feel your first period is that moment. I think that the moment you become a woman is when you recognize the power of your sexuality over a man (or a woman if that's your thing). This didn't happen for me until I was 21 and I reveled in the discovery and recognition of that power.
That's just me though.
