I am a Diva, and a Goddess as well.

After months of persuasion, maybe a year of it even, by a friend I decided to try the Diva Cup. It wasn't that I found it gross, I mean you have to insert it into your self as there is not an applicator. I had actually tried the Instead brand of disposable soft cups once or twice.

Instead soft cups didn't work very well for me, they leaked. It did however help (in my mind) in the getting knocked up with Gwennie. But that is totally another story altogether and I doubt I will share it on here, ok I will, instead (haha) of laying on your back with your hips elevated after insertion of the sperm, you insert the Instead and it keeps all the little guys closer to their target. Heck, I don't know if it really works, but I didn't want to lay on the bed with my hips on a pillow. And the month I used it we conceived a bouncing baby girlie.

Now the main reason I had put off purchasing a Diva Cup, was the cost and the Costco sized box of tampons and pads that reside in my closet. But I was at Whole Foods and they carry the cups. I looked at them long and hard. But walked away. Nearing my period the next month, my friend was telling me about them and about cloth pads. Her oldest child had started her period that week, and as a celebration they were purchasing Lunapads, or some cloth pads like them. She was showing me the ones she had ordered as well as a beautiful pad pot she wanted to get to store them in. We started talking about the other options, and actually explained how the Diva Cup works and how to insert it. It may seem strange to some, to be talking to a friend about the fine nuances of inserting a silicone cup into your vagina, but hey, it helped me make the switch. I headed to Whole Foods post haste the next day and picked up my new friend. She will be with me for a while, and I totally appreciate her sleekness and her ability to be used over and over. As well as not having to change her more than a couple times a day. Another plus is that the cup doesn't cause you to dry out like a tampon, or irritate sensitive labial tissue like a pad can.

I wish we were more open as a people about our periods. I was afraid to tell my mom when I started mine at fifteen. I just opened up the cupboard and used the products. There was not a cool party or celebration of my becoming a woman. It came and went with no hoopla. I suppose that happened because I and my mom didn't know any better, it was just part of life, and didn't warrant a celebration. I don't want my daughters to feel that way. I want to give them a celebration, a special gift, as well as the knowledge that menses are normal, a part of life and not something to fear or worry over.

I am curious about celebrations of menarche. I am curious how other women were welcomed into adulthood. As for this moment, this part of my cycle, I celebrate it. It is liberating to be me, and a member of womanhood. I am a goddess in my own right. I will celebrate myself and all that it entails.