I was Overwhelmed When He Explained Why My Periods Should Be Celebrated

Posted on Aug 9th, 2016

by Soni Kaur

Stories and Experiences

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“Is my period gross?”

“Not at all. It should be celebrated.”

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And this is how my monthly period celebrations began – almost 2 weeks before I turned 27 – as I awaited my next cycle and after I’d written my first Menstrupedia article about my journey in accepting my periods.

Was I doubting myself as I asked whether my period was gross? Perhaps. When something is ingrained in you for centuries, it feels innate.

But perhaps I was simply asking to test whether my sig fig (significant other – we’re science geeks) would be supportive.

And it’s not like this was the first time we’d talked about them.

But I wanted to be extra sure, as we were committing towards marriage…just like how I try to be extra sure that I am prepared for my period.

“No surprises,” as I usually say.

And just as I was wondering, my sig fig (Significant Other) shared this:

“It’s important to celebrate periods because, love, it’s a celebration of you…

What women go through to bring life into this world is of the utmost honor and demands the highest of respect from every person.

It also needs to be respected that the choice of bringing life into this world is not the in-laws’ choice, not the husband’s choice, but HER CHOICE along with that of her significant other.

I hope that celebrating your periods will help you feel respected, honored, and more comfortable.

You should know that I am with you, that you have my support.

Your body is a temple.

We should celebrate, love, and care for it.

[inlinetweet prefix=”null” tweeter=”null” suffix=”null”]Your body is yours. And how you care for it is your choice. [/inlinetweet]But, I wish for us to celebrate period week for multiple reasons. I recognize that it is not an easy time for you so I want you to know that I’m with you even more so then.

So no. Your period is NOT gross. It is beautiful.

YOU are beautiful. Your body is beautiful. Your soul is beautiful.

I wish to celebrate you, who you are, and what you mean to me.

If you can sacrifice that week for the future of our maybe kids….with pregnancy being an additional type of sacrifice of nine months, then the least I can do is to remind you that I am there for you wholeheartedly.

Through thick and through thin…”

And as I teared up, feeling overwhelmed, I asked, “Did that also sound like a period flow pun to you?”

“Yes”

We giggled.

“…Not just the easy times….

I wish to celebrate you now, tomorrow and forever.

I love you.

Today and for as long as our universe keeps us together.”

[inlinetweet prefix=”null” tweeter=”null” suffix=”null”]I was beaming and exclaimed, “I feel like a light saber! “to which my sig fig replied, “My Yoda!”[/inlinetweet]

Some mindful activities we’ve created from this conversation to celebrate my period include:

Eating my favorite foods – though I usually try to ensure that I am eating healthily, to reduce my cramping, I’m now encouraging myself to eat a little of what I crave as well.
Sig fig eating as much as I do so I don’t feel alone.
Cutting a cake every month! (Yes. The first 3 activities involve food!)
Keeping track of my cycle together – This is mostly a guesstimation; and in doing so, my sig fig is realizing how difficult it is for me to try figuring out when my period will surprise me next. We have a newfound appreciation for our 2 fields of Science: in his realm of Engineering, things are precise and accurate and non – living. In my world of Biology, things are organic and adapting.

Do we wish that together, we could be the ultimate human? HECK YES!

But for now, we’ll just let him place a warm hand on my tummy whenever I need him to.
Extra hugs and bubble baths – I’m usually mindful of water wastage though.
Reminding me to use my Thinx instead of pads so that I can feel like I’m helping the environment but being okay with me using pads instead.
Going to my favorite places to do some yoga and meditation.
Spending extra time with each other – there are not enough hours in the day. Since I am certain everyone has figured this out when trying to marathon-watch the entire Harry Potter Series in a day.
Being extra patient with me as I PMS and researching more about these symptoms – I’ve written about my PMS symptoms in my previous article. Since then, I’ve learned the name for that sharp pain I feel in my ovary (alternating between my left and right side each month): Mittelschmerz.

“Doesn’t Mittelschmerz sound like a type of pastry? Let’s use that word instead of darn!”

“Sounds like a German pastry. You got it…You make my insides go crazy.”

“My insides go crazy every month, so we’re even.”

“Far from it my love. Mine doesn’t even come close to yours. I love you more than my tummy loves paraanthhey.”

As we brainstormed celebration ideas, we recognized that most were a given.

Yet, we concluded that celebrating my periods would help us not take them for granted. We were learning to turn something that I dreaded into a positive experience.

Not only can my periods be celebrated, but they should be. Together. This is not to say that I believe that one needs to rely on a sig fig to be celebrated. Rather, I feel that recognizing people as holistic beings and mindfully accepting them as such is imperative to our growth as a species.

He calls me his lioness. He’s my biggest cheerleader. Period.

And so as I complete this article with my favorite band playing in the background, I’m reminded by Coldplay’s ‘A Message’ that I “don’t have to be on [my] own.”

P.S.: Our ultimate goal – trying to plan our wedding on not – period week.

We’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
Author: Soni Kaur