Tue 9 Jan 2007
The Red Tent was a pretty good book, I thought.
Posted by pseudostoops under navel gazing
[6] Comments
NOTE TO BOYS: you are likely not going to enjoy this post. You’ve been warned. No “blech, gross” comments, please.
CityMama had a nice post recently on using one’s calendar to reflect on the year just past. This made me think several things:
1. Where the heck is last year’s calendar, anyway?
2. Did I leave that gift certificate I bought at the auction last year in the pocket of last year’s calendar?
3. I did. Shit. I lost the gift certificate I overpaid for at last year’s auction. Awesome.
4. I am such a crappy calendar keeper.
Then Stefania got to this part:
Slashes slice across days as they are used up, lines with arrows at the end go across any days we have visitors or go out of town. Hearts adorn family birthdays and anniversaries. Inconspicuous dots mark the days when it’s “red tent time.”
(Emphasis added.) This made me think the following:
1. My mother always told me to do that.
2. Come to think of it, so did one of my roommates.
3. I don’t do that, and my mom is usually right about things. Crap. I am a bad menstruator. (Yeah, I said “menstruator.” Deal.)
4. Why the hell would I do that? (Let’s assume for the sake of this question that we’re not currently using the rhythm method)
It’s this last question with which I need help. I somehow now am managing to feel guilty about not doing something whose purpose I don’t even understand. Do you do this? Should I? And please, someone tell me why I should do this. Because I’m concerned I’m screwing up my womanhood or something.
When I was a kid and my mom told me to do that, it was so I would be able to predict *those days* a little better, not being in the habit of thinking in 4-week intervals.
I think for women whose *those days* are chemically regulated, the red dot is unimportant–things happen very much like clockwork. But if one is not chemically regulated, the red dot can still serve that predictive effect, once you see whatever pattern your dots form, and can also help you see if there are potential fertility problems.
Many years ago, a male flatmate told me he kept records of when he thought his female colleauges were having “those days” (based on what information? their chocolate consumption??) so he’d know to avoid them. Which made me go “ick” and, frankly, still does.
Ick.
I don’t think I would do this, even if I wasn’t “chemically regulated” (thank you, kristine). I couldn’t be bothered being that organised.
Mary Bennet, your former flatmate sounds like a creep.
Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood – it happens so rarely, of course – Grumpy asks me if it’s “those days”. This does not help my mood. I’ve found an effective response to this is to ask him the same question when he is in a bad mood. Heh heh.
Oh, I do this. It’s helpful if you’re having sex that could result in procreation, either for avoiding it or causing it (or knowing that you haven’t caused it). I’m betting that’s the main reason women do it. But it’s also impt. b/c not getting your period, or having a change in the schedule, can signal something else going on (like a UTI, for instance). It’s also helpful to know where you are in your cycle if you have problems with headaches, breast tenderness, etc. at certain times of the month – avoiding caffeine at those times can help with the breast soreness, for example.
What plainsfeminist said.
I’ve done this for years. And it really helped when last spring I didn’t get my period for 3 weeks and I wasn’t pregnant. Went to the gyno and she actually ordered an ultrasound to be sure I didn’t have any ovarian cysts. I didn’t, luckily, but it was good too know my cycle for things like that. Plus I’m Hypothryoid and that affects menstration, so I like to keep a handle on all that ‘business’ down there.
And now I’m SUPER tracking it, thanks to HollyRhea, so I can chart my fertility. But pregnancy aside, it’s really good to keep an eye on so if something funny is going on, you don’t let it get too progressed, thus having a harder time diagnosing/fixing/treating it.
So do it.
And you lost a gift certificate????? You’re making me dizzy. . . .
Bush and the Republicans were not protecting us on 9-11, and we aren’t a lot safer now. We may be more afraid due to george bush, but are we safer? Being fearful does not necessarily make one safer. Fear can cause people to hide and cower. What do you think? What is he doing to us, and what is he doing to the world?
What happened to us, people? When did we become such lemmings?
The more people that the government puts in jails, the safer we are told to think we are. The real terrorists are wherever they are, but they aren’t living in a country with bars on the windows. We are.