yup, nurse mom and doctor dad never spoke to me like i was a child about anything

when i was nine, a particularly bumpy no-stirrups horseback riding lesson broke my hymen, and when I saw the blood in my underwear after, i panicked. MOM YOU SAID THIS WOULDNT HAPPEN TO ME YET!

i knew the vague basics of periods already, but my mom gave me the full detailed period talk back then just in case it was my period.

didn’t get my actual period until I was almost 14, and the bathrooms were completely stocked, so I dealt with it without even mentioning it to my mom. A few months went by, and I asked for more pads and tampons, and she was like WHAT WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME

i shrugged. because it was no big deal!

talk to your kids about their bodies, and things like periods won’t be terrifying experiences when they do eventually happen