In the United Kingdom, a company has decided to offer period leave to women. It is probably great news for a lot of women. It gives them hope, that some day, their company will follow suit too. Or maybe not.

But it made some of us think anyway. I thought of different things though. Like how, when I was a kid, I did not understand what the big deal was about. Some girls would cringe in pain, wail, behave like they are going to die and pop pain killers like third graders pop orange candies. And I would look at them and snigger. Because, miraculously, despite being an ‘early bloomer’, I did not suffer from the bane of excessive period pain. But as the years passed by, I began to experience what it felt like – the unbearable pain that started in your head and shot as far as your toe nails, sending unpleasant shivers across yours body. The abdominal pain only made matters worse.

((Read later or now: Let’s talk about bleeding))

I sometimes wonder if its punishment for being a smug bitch when I was a kid. For laughing and mocking those girls for behaving like they had cancer or were wounded in war. Oh how ecstatic would they be to know that you could take a leave on those dreaded days. When I saw the piece of news, I was already on my period, in a terrible mood, the kind where you just want to sleep and not do anything, but you have work, and there is no way you can avoid it. But I still have always managed to go through work, without too much fuss. Sure, sometimes in my head, I feel like killing everybody with a chainsaw. Okay, no, I don’t feel that drastic. But you get the drift?

However, interestingly, I have never, in all three years of my work life, took a leave because I had my period and the pain was unbearable. The deal is, if you are preoccupied with a lot of work, maybe it helps a little in taking away the attention from the pain. It doesn’t do much for the mood, but I don’t think anybody is too cheery at work anyway.

Sure, after I get home, I just get into the bed and almost weep for no reason for the unjust life us mortals have to slog through. What did we do to deserve life on earth? Why God why?

No but, lot of people would say, that period pain can hamper your performance at work. Depends on the kind of work one has. Even I feel that I am not all that good at productivity on the days that I have my period. I tend to slack of, wonder about other things in life and feel like not working at large. And when a sudden gush of pain decides to play knock knock, you just want to quit everything and go to the mountains and die in peace. Or maybe you feel other things.

And since Himalayas is far away, all you want is head home, get some good food and lots of sleep after that.  Too many years, every month of bleeding, you kinda get used to it. But should we get used to it? Working even on our ‘down days’. Should period leave be a global thing soon? I frankly don’t know. Extra leaves are always welcome though.