Got Flow?

One of the greatest gifts my mother ever gave me was a good attitude about my period. It was never a curse or even a nuisance in my house. It just was. In fact, getting it the first time was cause for celebration. Not cake and ice cream celebration–but definitely a rite of passage. On the day of my first period, I called my mother at work to tell her the news. Thrilled, she ran out and bought an entire grocery bag full of options. (Picture a big brown kraft paper block, not one of the flimsy plastic bags we use today.) Pads, liners, wings. It was all in there. Even— EVEN tampons. But, oh, no, I wasn’t going to use those. No way.

Until… I got invited to a swimming party. What are the odds on there will be a swimming party on the second day of your very first period? This is the kind of charmed life I lead.

Mom didn’t blink. Without embarrassment or delay, she showed me how to use a tampon. Oh, the good fortune. I’ve been bowling, mountain climbing, and horseback riding on the beach ever since.

And now, as my daughter approaches the age of menarche, I’m excited about the book Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation. If it had been around in 1982, I’m sure my mother would have picked up a copy. Catch authors Elissa Stein and Susan Kim on The View tomorrow.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

Valerie Bertinelli on The View, and in Cleveland

I hate to admit I was planning to tune in to The View tomorrow just to see if Valerie Bertinelli had started to gain all that Jenny Craig weight back. I’m petty like that. But when I started picking around the internet, I found another reason to watch. VB’s got a new sitcom scheduled to air this summer called Hot in Cleveland. She will star with Wendi Malick (Just Shoot Me) and Jane Leeves (Frazier) in the show about three best friends from L.A. stranded in Cleveland.

Why am I excited about this? It has recently been suggested that agents and editors are only interested in women’s fiction set in New York or L.A. Maybe this TV show will lend some cred to the un-sexy, the non-coastal–therefore legitimizing Bentonville, Arkansas as a respectable setting for my novel.

Stop laughing.

Besides, she was married to a rockstar and worked with a woman who engaged in consensual incest. Val’s got stories.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

Vintage View: Rosie, Elizabeth, and The Donald

After more than twelve years, The View may seem like a daytime institution, but when the show began it was groundbreaking. Smart, opinionated women not only talking about their lives and the day’s events, but arguing about them. Add some celebrities and fashion advice and they had a hit. I liked it then and I like it now. The gossip isn’t as good as on my driveway, but the fights are sometimes smarter.

And speaking of fights, my favorite co-host was Rosie.

Pick your side, but this clip is exactly what Barbara Walters set out to create with this show.

And who can forget Rosie’s rant against Donald Trump. (I like him, but her criticism was spot on.)

I’m not fat or gay. I’m not quite as obnoxious as Rosie. Not quite. But I like to challenge people. I’m the Rosie of my circles. Of course that’s why I love her. Or maybe it was the hair. If Trump had her stylist, everything could have been different.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.