Where is my "red tent"?

Warning: Do not proceed, if you do not wish to hear about menstruation.

Seriously: You have been warned

Last Chance....

Go Away.....


My current monthly cycle has taken an toll on me. Which is insane. Ever since I have stopped taking "the pill" I have felt so much more "stable" as it were. Better, normal. However this month's "cycle" has left me feeling shellless, open and vunerable. Everything is too loud, too fast, too demanding, too....well too much. The anxiety, and feelings of overwhelming anxiety and dread is something I do not wear well. I seriously just want quiet and rest. I do not want to hear any noise, or any demands, or answer any question. I just want to be able to shut my mouth, and ears. I am not the moody sort. (Although, I am sure there are some that would disagree) So I am left feeling very out of sorts as it were. I am also suffering from cramping of this uterus of mine. Cramping that the Drs. told me would improve after giving birth. They lied.

My Mother-in-law had told me once upon a time, that many Native American cultures sequestered women away during they're mestrual cycles. She told me that women would be sent away fom camp and sent to a "tent". Men and other relatives taking care of her responsibilities for that time. This tent was also used in times of childbirth or illness.

"In many cultures, there were special temples or lodges dedicated to menstruating women to find retreat and relaxation during their moontime. Some believed that menstruating women had special powers during this mysterious bleeding phenom-enon. Family members or leaders in the tribe would make special requests of menstruating women, asking them to pray for the sick or seek visions in their dreams. Women were often highly honored during their menstrual cycle and were given special privileges, such as relief from their chores and duties, and were waited upon by their tribe or family during their moontime."

There is also this

"Plains Cree in the segregation at initial menstruation and in not using special lodges for subsequent menstrual periods. The cutting of wood by the Eastern Cree girl follows the Plains Cree custom, although the ceremonial return to the lodge is not eastern. The Central peoples differ in that every menstrual period is an occasion for seclusion.
Throughout the areas under discussion, contact with a menstruating woman is defiling, especially for sacred objects. The phrasing given to this concept by a Winnebago informant holds true for most eastern tribes. "Everything that is holy would immediately lose its power if a menstruating woman came in contact with it."25 "

So I have read different theories on the sequestering of women at this time.


So today, I have searched all over for a tent, there is the Eureka tent in the garage, we have used it for camping, and the like. It is bright yellow and easy to assemble. However it is sprinkling, humid and hot as hell out of doors.

There is the Dr. Seuss tent in the laundry room, all rolled up with "The Cat In The Hat" grinning widely just trying to provoke me.

I suppose I could enlist the collective to make me a fort, a tent out of blankets and cushions and chairs. My living room looking like the border Juarez, Mexico for the day.

I am left feeling unsure who would benifit from my sequestering today, or for the rest of the week for that matter. Would it be my tribe? Or, would it be me?

I am unsure.