I got my period halfway through a 10-hour shift.
Checked my bag. Nothing.
Asked a few girls if they had a spare pad. Nobody did.
I was already planning which hoodie to tie around my waist when one of the guys on my team overheard.
He disappeared.
15 minutes later he came back with a pharmacy bag.
“My sister said these are the right ones. If not, blame her.”
Inside:
• pads
• chocolate
• painkillers
• a bottle of water
I offered to pay him back.
He looked genuinely confused.
“For what? It’s a medical situation, not a business transaction.”
Then he walked away.
The internet keeps telling me decent men are extinct.
Meanwhile this guy treated my period like an emergency supply mission and recruited his sister as a consultant. 😭
My daughter called me from school yesterday.
Her: Dad I got in trouble.
Me: What happened.
Her: A boy grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away from him. So I broke his nose.
Me: (pause)
Me: Are you okay?
Her: I'm fine. But the principal wants to talk to you.
I went in.
The principal sat across from me and explained that while he understood my daughter felt uncomfortable, her response was inappropriate. The boy hadn't actually hurt her. She should have heard him out.
Me: (looked at him)
Me: What did my daughter say when you told her that?
Principal: (shifted in his seat)
Apparently she had told him in the middle of the school corridor, loud enough for everyone passing to hear that if that was his attitude he should probably find a different profession. That he was teaching girls to be quiet and teaching boys that grabbing was acceptable. That men like him were exactly why her mother taught her to throw a proper punch.
Two female teachers had started clapping.
Me: (sat there for a moment)
Me: (looked at the principal)
Me: With respect.
Me: The boy grabbed her when she tried to walk away.
Me: (stood up)
Me: I think we're done here.
Me: (collected my daughter from outside)
Me: (we walked to the car)
Me: (I didn't say anything for a moment)
Her: Am I in trouble?
Me: (looked at her)
Me: Your mum taught you well.
Her: (small smile)
Me: (we drove home)
Me: (I've never been more proud of anything in my life)