Pixie's Place

My mother also talked about periods to my brothers.

When I first got mine I had terrible cramps. Crippling cramps. I once was camping with my family and a few of my big brother’s friends when my period came. My cramps were so bad that my mom gave me a full pain killer ( I was 13 and before that she only gave me pills cut in half).

I literally laid down on my parents’ air mattress and cried in pain for an hour before the pill kicked in.

My brothers friend came in to the big tent and I was just curled up and sobbing. Now, I was quite the tomboy and was known to rough house with my brothers and their friends and made sure I wasnt seen as just “a little girl.” So my brother’s friend was confused to see me openly weeping in the fetal position (seriously, these were the worst cramps I have had in my life. My vision went white). He asked what was wrong with me.

My big brother stood up immediately and suggested a nice long hike. During this hike I am sure he had a pretty awkward conversation with his friend explaining menstrual cramps, because when they got back the pain pill had (mostly) kicked in and I was sitting up at a table when my brother’s friend sheepishly asked me if I was feeling better. I said I was better, and he said good.

When we made s'mores that night my brother and his friend kept me well supplied with chocolate.

Making sure sons know as much about periods and menstruation as daughters makes them better brothers, better sons better fathers, and better men. A man that understands a period will not lightly accuse a woman of “being on her period” if the woman is in an argument.

friends can be emotionally abusive.

friends can be physically abusive.

friends can disappoint you.

friends can lie to you.

friends can make you wonder if they found someone better than you.

friends can be manipulative.

friends can give you severe trust issues.

friends can dump you.

friends can be jealous that other people want to be friends with you.

friends can argue over the same issue repeatedly because someone’s needs aren’t being met.

friends can hurt you.

friends can judge you.

friends can ghost you.

friends can damage your self esteem.

Canada is really cold right now. It’s so cold that statues of John A. Macdonald are taking themselves down. It’s so cold that Pamela Anderson is wearing sealskin. It’s so cold that people are warming themselves around Andrew Scheer’s personality.

But don’t take our word for it. Below, a series of shocking statistics to bolster your indignance that somebody thought it was a good idea to put a country here.

A swath of Canada the size of Europe was under an extreme cold warning - That’s a swath of Canada roughly 3,500 km wide. For context, the distance between New York and Mexico City is only 3,400 kilometres. 

Canada’s warmest city is still colder than the record lows of more than 30 countries

Saskatoon is colder than both the north and south poles

Alberta’s warmest place was almost as cold as Mars - for a few minutes, all of Alberta was about as cold as Mars’ Gale Crater