12/04/2026
This is something that seems so small and normal to us but I know it isn’t for a lot of families. So many women I know have a legacy of menstrual shame, especially from their own mothers and grandmothers who so often had no rites of passage of their own to pass on to us.
That my sons will grow up with open dialogue and visibly menstruating women in their home, that one of my sons has seen birth, these imprints matter and ripple forward.
I also plan to discuss and show what I can of my menopause journey with my kids when I get there (in roughly a decade). I think so much of our silencing of menopausal women (and their own self-silencing) is a disservice to younger people. Women like .ann.johnson and others have expanded my understanding of what menopause entails and helped to pave a path forward for me to walk when the time comes.
I’m curious, do you show your kids your blood and talk about menstrual cycles or is it not something you think kids should see?