The red tent

I like the moonstone idea when i started i thought i was dying. My mum said nothing chucked me a pack of pads and said to read the instructions. For years i felt disgusting and embarrased about them. Its only recently at 33 i have come to accept them. Only problem is at the moment i would be living in the tent as ive been on for the last 3 weeks (3day break inbetween).

I love the idea, am totally to have a party when the time comes.

I would have loved a moonstone jewel to mark that rite of passage when I was a teen. Instead I got a book called Sue's Red Letter Day as my parents didn't talk about That Sort of Thing be it sex or a woman's normal bodily functions.

I used to love the big cleansing bath I'd have when my period stopped. Stepping out on the bath mat. ready for a new month. Although I no longer have periods, can you fit a deep bath with everlasting hot water in the tent?

Oh, but definitely look forward to Freedom Day

Good idea, but one must plan ahead by noting the date of each period as they taul off.
I can't even remember the damn year, but it was in the Naughties < slinks off thread >

Only problem with a last moon party is that it is very difficult to tell when it finally ends.
At least for me, it tailed off in frequency and very much in amount.
I certainly couldn't have said that a certain month, or even quarter-year, was the final one.

I think society still has remnants of the attitude that women who are past child-bearing age serve no useful purpose.

OVARIES !

imo, a time to rejoice

I can't imagine seeing a period as being anythng other than something to be treated with total utter dread.

I used to have so much pain and such heavy periods - now I am on the pill purely to keep them under control and it is wonderful.

< pops head into cosy red tent >

re meno / post-meno:

I know some women have found it very difficult, but there is such a range of different experiences
I LOVE it
I'm 60, I've had no periods for several years.
I'd (almost) forgotten the discomfort & inconvenience
I was lucky though in having comparatively few meno symptoms, just a few hot flushes and sweaty nights. No mood swings. No HRT or anything needed.
Can't get pregnant.
No need for hormonal contraceptives and their side effects.

Like almost everyone, I had to change what & when I ate, because the changed hormonal balance adds fat around the midsection, i.e. increases the more dangerous visceral fat.
However, the whole "no more periods" (pardon my skip for joy) makes it very positive overall for me.

I'm there with you, we will need a stove to keep us warm/make tea. I will bring copious amounts of carbohydrates, chocolate and good red wine too.

The older I've gotten the more regular mine have become - i've started having a lot more pms symptoms too (mood/spots/breast tenderness/outrageous hunger) which I wasn't expecting.

A freind, when training as a doctor worked in a very remote area with the indigenous population. When menstruating, the women were considered dirty and shunned and remained in a hut on the outskirts of the village. When questioned (by my slightly outraged friend) the reply was to STFU as it was the only sanctuary they had, for 6 days a month. No men, no violence, no beatings. Just women.

I've never suffered terribly with mine, so it's kind of an old friend now.

They're getting irregular, and different. A bit unpredictable. I see it as my ageing female body working exactly as it should. Of course I'm regular with my check ups etc, but the unpredictableness isn't something that needs to be managed. Fortunately.

A good friend has just been diagnosed with endo. She's over 40. Years of awful pain. Years of being fobbed off. I'm so angry for her.

I quite like having my period after the initial flooding. I see it as a time to look after and be gentle to myself.

I'll join you in the red tent.

I like the moonstone idea. I also like the 'YE gods - I'm menopausal idea!' It seems more empowering to be upfront about it than sitting in sweaty embarrassment. Anyway, a woman has to start practising sometime if she's going to grow older disgracefully... I'm of an age where friends have started having tentative conversations about possible symptoms. I might hit menopause the same day dd gets her first period - wonder if I should make sure dp knows where the shed keys are? (For him not us!)

^ "ye gods, the heat in here, sorry you young ones, I am menopausal"

That is quite a strange thing to shout out.

I did exactly that for DD paxillin, right down to the moonstone I was worried she'd be embarrassed but she was really pleased and still wears it sometimes now, 10 years later. We are a bit hippy though.

Not sure about planning a trip out, scallion. My periods were heavy and sweaty and painful, right from the start. She might prefer to curl up on the sofa with a good film and a takeaway.

I'm post-menopausal, so won't be a regular, but I think a red tent thread is a lovely idea