Period.

So exciting! Set up the red tent! Exactly thirteen days after my peak day (and presumed ovulation). Another thing I like about FAM: charting not only gives you an excellent idea of when to expect your period (the number of days between ovulation and menstruation varies from woman to woman, but is generally very consistent for each woman), but checking your cervix (or having it checked) also gives you a more helpful heads-up that it's arrived than, say, waiting to bleed through a pair of pants. I went from no spotting at all yesterday, to a little bit of blood with a cervical check this morning, to an almost-full Keeper cup at the end of the day. (When I was on birth control, I had barely that much flow the entire week!) Speaking of which, if you're not using one yet, I highly recommend it. And if you haven't read this, I'd recommend that too. Another very woman- and period-positive resource is here. It was reading Northrup's chapters on things like self-care and menstrual wisdom that actually made me jealous of women who were cycling, and that started our whole journey toward fertility awareness.

Another thing I like about being off of birth control: my body and I get the blame and the credit for everything. If I'm teary? It's not because I'm on the pill, so maybe something is really wrong. And when people used to tell me "You have pretty skin," I'd say "Oh, everybody does when they're on the pill." But you know what? I'm off the pill, having my period, and my skin still looks nice, if I do say so myself. Maybe it was me all along.