My blood leaked around the edges, destroying countless pairs of underwear, spotting my pants, staining not just my clothes but my car’s seat, my friend’s couch, my good living room chair (years later, when I finally had a living room and enough time had passed for me to actually have a good chair!), even the bleachers at my kids lego robotics competition. Requiring emergency trips to bathrooms in shopping malls, convenience stores, downtown, school, and various offices in countless towns. My blood made itself known.

It ran down my legs, sometimes gushing, and generally remained relentlessly like an endless creek flowing steadily for 5 days. It tufted in my pubic hair. Reliably, Day 2 was always the messiest. Still, I loved it.