Birds, Bees And Uncomfortable Conversations

I wear my clothes, my mind on other things, frowning at the mirror as I do. I notice Ammu behind me. I continue to get dressed as she watches, curious, unrepentant.

“Why do you wear that?” she asks

I pause, unsure where I should direct the conversation.

“For support,” I say and leave it at that.

“How long have you been wearing one?” she asks.

We have this conversation in our brightly lit bathroom. I dress and she watches. We talk about puberty, about body hair, and about the need for deodorants. We talk about what it is like to see your body change. We then talk about other things. She runs off to play with her sisters and I walk out astounded by how natural it was talking to her about all things woman.

In the past couple of years, I have watched my nieces morph and change before my eyes. I have been scouting for books to help my daughters get introduced to the concept of puberty. I imagined that a year from now, I would sit my daughters down and have a mini biology lesson with awkwardness and discomfort thrown in.

What I had not counted on was how easy and unexpected it all was. Today is just the beginning, the tip of the iceberg so to speak. We will revisit these conversations over the weeks and months to come. Hopefully, it will happen the way it did today – Natural, conversational and sans agenda.

If this moved you, send a tip.