Wedding Woes

from where i cheat, part 3

Soooooo last week was just about the most awkward week of my whole life. Some people were REALLY unhappy about the note I left for Jennifer. I reminded them that I'm not an HR person and I don't have any training dealing with situations like these, and I stood behind my actions. 

Jennifer came back from her long weekend last Monday, and she didn't talk to a single person that day. Apparently one of our coworkers had gotten wind of what happened, and came up to me to thank me privately for doing what I did. Apparently a few of the other women (who I'm not very close to) were in the early stages of hatching up a plan to tell Jennifer that they were tired of smelling her blood and dealing with her bad habits. 

I decided to talk to Jennifer privately because I couldn't deal with just leaving the situation alone considering what I wrote to her the past week. 

Basically Jennifer grew up in a house where that behavior was totally normal. Her mom did it and so did her sister (by "it" I mean using 1 pad for like more than a day). I asked her how she made it to 25 without noticing that other women don't do that. She basically told me that she subconsciously knew that other women didn't do it, but she thought it was fine because she had been doing it since she was like 12 and no one had really called her on it. 

I told her that I was sorry for embarrassing her but she had to change what she was doing. She told me that she was keeping all the pads and tampons I left for her in the bathroom, and that she wanted me to keep a supply for her constantly replenished in the ladies room. 

Basically Jennifer thinks that if I have such a problem with her and I wanted her to change, then I have to be the one who supplies her with the pads to change all the time. 
image

Re: from where i cheat, part 3

  • (by "it" I mean using 1 pad for like more than a day).

    What!!!!!!!!!!!!

    image
  • I'd do it. I mean really- how much does buying a bulk box of tampons and pads cost? I buy a huge box at Costco every couple of months and it lasts awhile. But maybe I'm just made of money and getting less confrontational in my old age.
  • OH MY GOD.

    Seriously? Does she not realize what kind of a health hazard she is creating by bleeding all over the place?!

  • my first thought was the health hazard of bleeding everywhere. ew. 

    how is that even comfortable for her? Walking around covered in wet or dried blood? I hated going to pads for that 6 week post-partum period because it was so uncomfortable - and I was changing them regularly. 


    could the OP ask her boss to get the company to cover it - so any of the women in the office would have free access to sanitary supplies? my office does this - we have a dispenser, but it's no charge. 
  • I want her to bleed on my chair.
    image
  • tawillerstawillers member
    Ninth Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited September 2015

    (by "it" I mean using 1 pad for like more than a day).

    What!!!!!!!!!!!!

    YES.  I was pretty horrified through this whole thing, but when I got here^,

    image

  • yes, the more than a day was just 
    image
    image
  • What must her sheets and sofa look like? no Bueno.

    I will say that I had to deal with some old wives tales when I first got my period. My aunt didn't want me to take a bath. Even at 13, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I'm trying to remember the reason. I think something about getting a cold or the chills. I don't know.

    My mom didn't want me to use tampons, and finally at 16, I revolted and starting buying them myself.

    image
  • my mother didn't want me to, either. but too bad -- i had a job so i had my own money. 
    image
  • hmonkey said:
    btw, the passive aggressive side of me would want to comply with jennifer's wishes, make a giant box for the bathroom, and decorate it with giant overnight pads, red glitter and a sign that said "jennifer's pads!!!!"
    Ha! The passive aggressive side of me would also want to put tons of cleaning supplies next to her workstation.
  • We weren't allowed to wear tampons until 14 because my mom was afraid of TSS.  We had to be 15 to get contacts. 
  • My first thought when I read Part 1 was that maybe she was raised in the type of home that never talked about such ~horrifically shameful~ topics as menstruation. I have heard stories of girls whose parents / teachers never taught them about puberty and they were basically left to their own devices, which is incredibly heart-breaking. 

    I can't understand what kind of parent would rather clean blood off of everything for a week every month than say, "Hey Jen, this is your period. It's fine, you're not dying. Just put this pad in your underwear to soak up the blood and change it before it gets saturated."

    It doesn't sound like Jennifer's case was exactly the same but there was clearly some weird lack of communication going on. I highly doubt she, her sister, and their mom casually chatted about using one pad for several days like it was nbd? But what I really don't get is how she was fine with it just because no one had called her out before? She honestly felt comfortable sitting in blood all day? Plus asking you to pay for her sanitary products forever is rude as all hell and seems like a bratty move. This is all so weird and gross and sad.
  • First of all, OMG. I can't imagine anyone having zero shame about bleeding all over the office furniture. Periods are natural and accidents happen, but the overwhelming majority of women in the developed world manage them without this nonsense. She probably needs some sort of counseling or at least a solid consult with a good gyno.

    That said, if you are thinking about spending some of your own hard-earned money to help this woman, you could look into THINX panties as well. Supposedly they can substitute for a pad on light days and help with the odors/mess of leaks. I believe they donate part of their proceeds to support period education in parts of Africa. Haven't tried them myself, but just a thought.
  • Time to go back to the boss and let them know that she intends to either extort free products from other employees or resume bleeding on company property. SMH
  • thanks for the suggestions, guys. i will go talk to jennifer soon.
    image
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards