My Dad Called Periods Disgusting… Then My Little Brother Destroyed Him.

My dad called periods disgusting. Then my little brother destroyed him.

My dad's always been one of those macho men. Thinks emotions are weak and anything girly is gross. It's no secret he always wanted a son. He barely talks to me. But my little brother, golden child, last year I broke my leg playing soccer and when I tried to tell my dad what happened, he literally cut me off mid-sentence like, "Gh, I don't want to hear about your girly stuff. Sir, I fractured my femur."

Anyway, last week I was in the living room playing Fortnite with my little brother when out of nowhere he looks over and says, "Hey, can I ask you something kind of weird?" I said, "Sure." He goes, "What are periods like? One of my best friends just got hers and I want to understand it better so I don't make it awkward."

I smiled so big. Then I told him, "Well, first of all, they're different for everyone. Some people get bad cramps, some don't, but it's like your body's doing this monthly reboot and punishing you with pain and hormones for surviving another month without a baby." He laughed. And then I added, "Oh, and chocolate helps. Always chocolate."

It was a sweet moment. But then from another room, my dad screams out, "Hey, shut up. No one wants to hear about something so disgusting. It's not a man's place to know those things about a woman." My jaw dropped. I was about to go off, but before I could say a word, my little brother just looked up at him and said, "No wonder mom left you. Silence."

Like entire house goes dead silent. My dad just turned and walked back into the other room like a defeated NPC. I was wheezing. Like actually cry laughing. My little brother looked back at me and said, "So chocolate, right?"

I said, "Make her a goodie bag. Include her favorite candy, maybe some fuzzy socks. Just let her know she's seen, but you don't see her any differently." And in that moment, I realized my brother might look like our dad, but he's nothing like him. And honestly, that gives me so much.