…I started menstruating when I was eleven. It was a positive experience for me. The year before that, in grade five, were were taught about our bodies in health class. The boys got their own book and lessons; the girls got a book, “On Becoming a Woman”. I remember the teal-green book jacket well. On the front was a photo of a pubescent girl with long dark brown hair, parted at the side, framed in an oval frame. I read that book over and over again.
I was really proud to be a woman. I never lost that pride. I never grew tired of my period. It was my connection to the archetypal feminine. I was only bothered by the “artificialness” of having a period forced on me when being on “the pill”. I felt that my period was a false period, determined by drugs. I was much happier when I switched to the “coil” (“Copper T”) method of birth control.
I recorded my period for most of my adult life. Now, at age 51, I think my cycles are almost done. I haven’t had a period since Oct. 2010. They had been sporadic for several months prior, with light ones, and a few really heavy ones. In October, I experienced the heaviest period I ever had in my life. At the end, I was using the “Diva Cup” instead of tampons or pads. The cup would do me for the day without having to empty it. I was emptying it every 45 minutes or so on that particular period. Since then, I have had one incidence of spotting, which corresponded to my regular menstural cycle.
Over the years I noticed a pattern. My period usually came like clockwork, sometimes to the hour. But each year I noticed that there were two switches. I never analyzed that, but always meant to. Here are some of the dates of my periods, with a few notes from time to time. If misplaced (and/or burned) some journals, so the list is not complete:
1991: Sat. Jan 12 (waning moon); Sat. Feb 9 (waning moon); Fri. Mar 8 (waning moon); Apr?; Sat. Apr 27 (waxing moon, almost full); Sat. May 25 (waxing moon, almost full); Sat. Jun 22 (Summer Solstice, waxing moon); Jul?; Aug.?; Sun. Sep 22 (waxing moon, almost full); Fri. Oct 18 (waxing moon); Wed. Nov13 (waxing moon); Fri. Dec 13 (waxing moon).
Note: 1991 was a year when I worked 3/4 time and attended university full-time. I smoked, was underweight, and under quite a lot of stress. But it was a good year in that I was amazingly motivated, and got straight As.
1992: Mon. Jan 13 (waxing moon);
