Birds, Bees and Shrine to Kotex

Well world, it’s happened.  My babies are becoming women whether I like it or not.  Alycia is 16, Meredith is 11 and Megan is 7 going on 17!  Where did the time go?

I know it’s a rite of passage when Mother Nature visits our daughters.  The school teaches our kids about changes in their bodies and how babies are made … and God bless them for bringing up the topic for discussion – but do we have to talk about it non-stop!?!  It has become the all-consuming topic of discussion for the last month!

First we needed to be ready (hence the shrine to Kotex – a free form sculpture of sanitary napkins in various sizes, shapes and flow control levels, carefully presented on her dresser in anticipation of the “big event”.)  Then there is the secret, incognito package carefully camouflaged for our backpack in further anticipation of the “big event.”  Finally there is the assortment of sample packages send home from school from the feminine hygiene industry in hopes of attracting a new and eager market for their products.

This pales in comparison to the in-depth conversation of the classic W-5 interrogation to ascertain the particulars leading up to and including the actual event.  Roll in the classic questions from an eavesdropping 7 year old and I am tired of talking about it.  I know I told kids they could talk to me about anything (after all, we want the open lines of communication and them having good information to base decisions on) but I was kidding.  Kidding myself as it turns out as I’m not ready.  Well, I put on my brave face and have what I can only describe as an out-of-body experience as I try answering their questions.  At this point in my life, I just wanted to get through menopause and put the whole “period thing” behind me.  Funny how life turns out … just when you think you’re on track, you aren’t.  I just hope the free form “shrine to Kotex” doesn’t become some type of art-form and by extension an art project.