Who decided a period leak was the end of the world?

[Backseat Driver]

4. The family dog had no general distaste for sanitary pads...

He'd find 'em, chew them up, and leave them in the living room. With only one small bathroom in the house, you'd think mom would get a covered waste can for herself and two menstruating daughters, but there was an entirely different agenda to that madness of making her daughters march those used/wrapped Kotex out to the kitchen, and the soaked undies or bedding to the basement. Trust me, it was no picnic either feeling that pain come on so suddenly and irregularly (by the calendar) and then the clotty piece of uterine lining the size of an apple passing from one's body during algebra class, quite non-absorbable into any variety of pad or past the tampon worn just in case. One night I sought mom out to ask to go to the family doctor about my menstrual difficulties thinking that I had a confidante, an "you can talk to me about anything" mom, but, I guess because the contraceptive pill was brand new and I did not yet drive a car, she replied in that catty way, "Are you sure you don't want to talk to me about something (else)?" as she brushed my request for medical consultation aside. I never spoke about reproductive processes to her ever again. I also made sure my daughters could call their doctor and take themselves to an appointment should they ever need to do so...I trusted them with their bodies!