“Oh God………………………What will I do?”
My Mom started sobbing profusely and it shook me from head to toe. Till that day I had never witnessed my Mom in such a dilapidated state. All sorts of bizarre thoughts started gripping me and I too was left teary eyed. Neither Me and my Mom are melodramatic and hence it goes without saying, that something big must have transpired, that must have pushed my Mom to react in such a way.
Yeah!! The red fluid knocked at my door at a time when we were least interested in welcoming it. Result being chaos and confusion on both ends, me and my Mom’s. My Mom was nervous, as she realized that she should have spoken to me on this earlier and me on the other hand was bewildered looking at her sad face. My Mom suddenly whispered something into my Nani’s ears and now my Nani too joined my Mom in shedding tears. One look at the duo, and a chill ran down my spine. I too can’t be blamed as till that moment; I was totally unaware of this unwanted guest which had already played its part in intruding my privacy. My Mom had seen some stains on my dress and I think that triggered the panic in her.
“Go and take bath………….” My Mom said,as she rushed to get me a fresh pair of dress and towel which I was supposed to use.
“Why Mom?” I still had the courage to ask her.
“All girls have to go through this someday or other, please go and change” This time I didn’t throw any questions at her and followed her directions to the hilt.
Suddenly I saw one of my friends who too was my senior arrive at my place. Maybe she was summoned by my Mom to arrive at the earliest. She told me that these cycles are natural and the more we try to get used to it, the better it will be. I nodded in affirmation with a smile on my face. But all hell went loose, when she referred that, this will be coming every month most probably on the same day. I was taken aback, as I couldn’t imagine myself going through this discomfort every month. On top of it I was confused, if my Mom and Nani are going to weep the same way every month as they did today. Now it may sound funny, but that time my curiosity was forcing me to come up with many weird questions. What followed was a long list of Do’s and Don’ts that was briefed to me by the Mother, Daughter duo.
If I ponder over this now, I realize that my Mom should have told me about this beforehand, so that I could have kept my calm. Despite being highly educated, it was her upbringing which was prohibiting her from discussing these topics with her daughter. The way she broke down shows how naïve she was at that moment. Maybe she was not prepared for this reality or she feared that her daughter has finally grown up. The basic problem in my case was definitely my lack of awareness about the same. It has happened with lot of my friends too. I was lucky that it stuck me when I was home. What if I would have been at school or public place?
Today I am 39 and I can proudly say that “Yes! I menstruate”, I become upset if I don’t meet this friend of mine once every month. If we follow certain steps then Menstruation will no more be as complex as its thought to be:
- Parents should brief their kids (Yeah!! I emphasize both the sex) about Menstruation once they attain a certain age. With this firsthand information in their kitty girls can definitely do away with fear, anxiety and trauma that accompany this biological process.
- The way of explaining is also pivotal. The tone should be set as easy, light with a sprinkle of care at the top.
- School text books can have a chapter on this too. May be in middle school level and not in high school as it used to be in our time.
- Government should come up with simple messages in form of advertisements that can be conveyed to a wider audience through print and digital media.
- Menstrual hygiene day falling on May 28th should be celebrated every year in nook and corner of the world. May be schools could be given a half day off so that kids can know the essence of this PRIME DAY.
If we do this right, then I am sure it will help bridge the gap between a girl and this vibrant red liquid.
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