Lijia, China’s Monthly Break for Women

A wooden chair on a deck, looking into the sunset
From my Chinese husband's perspective, my period meant rest -- even if I felt restless about it! (photo by julian leandro irusta)

Yesterday, I heard that once-monthly command from my Chinese husband. “Think of it as a forced vacation. It’s time for you to xiuxi,” he soothed me, putting a pillow on the couch and coaxing me over to sit down and put my feet up.

“But I have all of these things I haven’t done yet!” I pleaded.

John shook his head. “You need to rest,” he urged me, pointing to the couch.

Eventually, I did go to couch, settling into my usual spot, even as my mind was anything but settled about the idea of resting. You should be writing. You should be answering all of those e-mails. You should be…

If there’s anything I should be, it’s used to this whole routine. John and I have been together through years — and therefore, many, many months of me doing what every woman naturally does once a month. I get the kind of cramps that could drive perfectly normal women to light up their tampons and smoke them, so I should be thinking period equals rest. But right on schedule, just as I begin, so my mind begins the once-monthly protest every time John mentions “rest.”

But what I didn’t understand was, John would have urged me to take a break, even if I didn’t have the cramps. Continue reading “Lijia, China’s Monthly Break for Women”