The Period

Yep. We are there. The time a mom thinks will come wayyyy down the road. Nope! Since 3rd grade the discussion began. At that time we went over what it was, what happens, how often, just the basics. I knew there would come a day that she would be ready for more information. The day came. Thankfully, I think I was a bit prepared with my "props." I had a sample of a panti-liner, regular pad with wings, super tampon, and a regular tampon. I had requested a sample from a freebie sight and it came with one of each. I stashed it and knew it would come in handy one day.
I had her bring a pair of her panties and we went over how to correctly place each one and what the "wings" are for, and when to use a pad vs a panti-liner....
Then the fun part began. She had been asking lots of questions, because apparently a classmate of her's walked through the rite of passage over the weekend. The poor thing started while swimming. My poor daughter was so worried that she would start one day while we were swimming. We swim about 3 times a week during the summer. She asked me if they have to drain the entire pool when that happens. I felt sooo bad that she had been so worried. Thank goodness, she only went through a few hours of agony and had the courage to come talk to me after school!!
Well, because of her friends incident she wanted to know about tampons. She heard you are suppose to use those when you go swimming. I opened one up and showed her how to insert it, just using my hands while explaining where it went. I then put it under running water and showed her how it expands and can possibly leak and why you need some protection even while wearing a tampon. I did tell her, for a few hours in the pool it would be ok, however be sure to tuck the string in so it is not noticeable. I also showed her how to position herself to make it easier if she wanted to try to use them. I don't keep any in the house, so I have no worries of her hurting herself or anything. She would have to ask me to buy some or of course, could get one from a friend at school.
Finally, I went over steps to take should it happen while she was at school. I gave her a pad and a pantiliner to keep in her locker. Even though there are only a few days of school left, I could tell it gave her tons of peace of mind. Me on the other hand is now freaking out that my just turned 10 baby girl is growing up faster than I am ready for!!

Keeping It Real !

I have been doing a bit more blog cruising lately. I made a decision. I am going to keep it real. I am finding that so many blogs are just "life is so fun, and perfect." Well, it's not, and we all know it. I want to keep my blog real and share what is going on in my life. That is why I started doing this. I am a difficult nut to crack. I will admit that. For some reason, I am better able to communicate with my fingers than with my mouth. Go figure. I really do want to share my "journey." Part of that sharing is the up hill and down hill battles.
I currently am dealing with a major uphill battle, which is dealing with my brothers passing. There is not an area in my life that has not been affected by it. Financially, Physically, Emotionally, you name it! I love to swim. If you swim, you will be able to understand my next statement. I am now feeling like, when you jump into a deep pool, hit the bottom, and instead of pushing yourself off the pool floor and speeding up your descent, you just slowly..... look up.. see the sun shining through the water and feel yourself slowly start floating up. I just don't have any "umph" left in me to push myself off the pool floor. I'm okay with that, because for almost 2 months I felt like I was laying on the bottom of the pool floor weighted down by something so heavy and large, that all my strength would never be able to get it off me. Thank you Heavenly Father, for not giving up on me, even when I was angry and hurt!!