There is a very delicate statement that separates the men from the boys and the heroes from the faint of heart. These 3 words are powerful and do one of two things. Either it solicits true compassion and care or it will send a man running out the front door leaving only dust in his wake. These powerful words aren’t “I love you” like you’re thinking…no, it is simply this. “I have cramps”.
W gets this cautious look in his eyes when I utter these words. He looks at me like a psychiatrist might look at a recently committed patient; concerned yet wary. Lucky for me, when my eyes narrow ever so subtly, he is very quick to recover from this temporary state of panic and transitions to the kind and wonderful man that he is. 🙂
One of my biggest pet peeves since I’ve been about 13 is how men can take this declaration of cramps and somehow turn it into something it isn’t. For example…
- HE comes home late without calling for the 3rd time this week and SHE expresses frustration. HE automatically blames it on the cramps.
- SHE watches a particularly sad movie on tv and cries. HE blames it on the cramps.
Cramps get a bum rap. Not that they aren’t an inconvenience and nuisance but I might just be tired. I might just be sad. I might just be irritated…not everything is related to cramps. Really, I have a pretty good handle on them by now ~ practice makes perfect.
What if women blamed everything on testosterone? Oh, wait…..testosterone really is to blame. Bad example.
I suppose if I could just get one thing through to men everywhere, it would be this. Don’t do something stupid and make us feel like we’re overreacting because it happens to be August 3rd. Maybe you just did something stupid and we’d appreciate the stupidity come to an end. Maybe, as an alternative, you could be a little less stupid because it happens to be August 3rd. Is that so hard? Great, now pass it on.
~Amy
Amen sista!!