We all know shopping with small kids can be stressful and sometimes even disastrous, but one mom’s day at Target was all those things and more.
Just after the New Year, Momstrosity writer Eliza Morril took to Facebook to share her cringe-worthy account of what happened when her 4-year-old twin boys were exposed to the wonders of womanhood.
Mom Learns She’s Not Alone After Twin Boys Are Exposed to Their First Period Is in a Target Bathroom
Eliza began her story by saying, “Well, any shred of dignity I had has been left in the Target bathroom. My first mistake was leaving home with my 4-year-old twin boys. As a general rule, taking them anywhere in public doesn’t end well. But, I’m a glutton for punishment.”
As the mom continued, as soon as she walked into the local Target, she realized that she needed to use the ladies’ room. But because she was alone with her twin boys in tow, she had “no choice but to take them with me.”
“The handicap stall is conveniently out of order, so I have to cram inside of a tiny stall with both of my children and my purse that could easily hold one of their younger siblings. I digress.” And that’s when Eliza realized she had gotten her period and, well, her twins had a dramatic reaction.
“At about this time, I realize that it is Shark Week. Aunt Flo has entered the building, whatever. I try to distract my young cherubs so that they may not be so interested in what’s happening inside the toilet bowl, when it happens: ‘Child 1: MAMA!!!!! You have… BLEED ON YOU!!’ and Child 2, horrified: ‘BLEED IS COMIN’ OUT OF YOUR BOOTY!!!!!!!!!’ I am begging them to be quiet. ‘Are we the only ones in here?’ I silently pray.”
But to only make matters worse, it turns out the trio did have an audience. As Eliza wrote, “A muffled guffaw from the next stall over tells me that we are not.”
And the twins’ concern didn’t stop there. They continued to ask their mom if she was okay and if she needed a Band-Aid while simultaneously saying that they should call 911. But as many women already know she didn’t need a Band-Aid, she needed a tampon, something she soon realized she was fresh out of.
“I was frantically checking my purse for the tampon that I know is not there, while also trying to cover their mouths. ‘Mommy is totally fine. This is very normal for mommies and women. It looks scary but it is OK.”
Her reassurance didn’t work and one of her sons decided to seek help. “I look down to [find] Child 2 sticking his head out of the stall to tell another bathroom patron that his mom is, ‘bleedin’ really bad outta her booty.’ In this moment, I want to die.”
Despite knowing there was an audience outside the stall, the mortified mom finally mustered up the courage to escape the stall.
“I scoot them out of the stall to find a precious, older woman at the sink, tears of laughter streaming down her face. As you may have guessed, I did not make it home with laundry detergent and baby socks today. And also not my dignity.”
Eliza’s story garnered several hundred shares on Facebook. She later returned to her post to assume those who took an interest in her agony were “laughing WITH me and not AT me.”
The mom also hoped to use the new-found attention for good. As a mom who adopted children out of foster care, she knows “that feminine hygiene products are the most requested item for shelters and group homes and the least donated.”
“People don’t donate pads, tampons, and period products because they don’t think about it, or it feels ‘taboo.’ But we don’t think periods are taboo, and we want to continue the discussion. The need is real, and we want to help.”
Eliza then asked people to “consider joining our period project and donating a box of tampons or pads. “Each item purchased from our Amazon Wish List will you straight to children and young adults in foster care. Thanks for sharing in our stories and helping us serve the foster care community.”
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That's a WRAP on our Period Project!You guys. We are OVERWHELMED by the response to our Period Project initiative for…
Posted by Momstrosity on Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Losing your dignity doesn’t seem so bad when you can do some good in the process.
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