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Surfing The Crimson Tide

© Nancy Coulter

I was sitting on my couch one night trying to think of a new article. Nothing came to mind...but then this sharp pain swept across my stomach and I felt the need to just curl up in the fetal position till the pain went away. So much for thinking up an article that night!

So the next day, I was at work and asked some friends for ideas for an article. Once again, that gut-wrenching pain hit me and I got an ugly grimaced look on my face.

My friend, Dawn, asked, "Have you written an article about your friend?"

"My friend? What friend?"

"You know, that friend that makes you fall over in pain and makes you want to just spend the entire day in bed, curled up in a hot blanket, eating chocolate all day long?"

Ohhhh...THAT friend. That friend that every woman has learned to hate and dread. That friend that any good boyfriend/husband fears and prepares for every month. That friend that is really a woman's worst enemy (ironic that it's also what marks a woman as being a "real" woman).

Yes folks, I'm talking about your monthly period. That's one thing in this world that I think all men and women can agree that they hate. It isn't a pretty subject and most people try to avoid it. But it's there and it's something that women can only get away from by one of two ways.... Either pregnancy or a hysterectomy. It is something that every woman has had to deal with at some point in her life. It is something that every man has hated dealing with, and causes some to mysteriously leave town around the same time every month.

Some men blow off period cramping as a woman's excuse to whine and be lazy. That's far from the truth. I'm sure there are some women out there who use it that way, but for the majority of women there is no such thing as faking period cramps. I remember back when I was in tenth grade and had horrible cramp pains. My teacher wouldn't let me out of the classroom to go to the bathroom. When class was finally over, I went running to thebathroom but didn't make it in time. I ended up puking all over the hallway and made a fool out of myself in the process. That's not the norm for me, but for some women it is. Some women have to use serious prescription drugs just to deal with the pain of period cramps. Then there are the lucky ones who never get any pain. Those women should be thanking their lucky stars!

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