Something I Planned to Ignore Forever

This may seem weird, but I don't remember when I started my period, just the embarrassment and horror of my first experiences with it. It was sometime before 7th grade because I remember being scared to start Jr. High with it. I didn't tell anyone, I used toilet paper for who knows how long, my parents were divorced and I lived with my dad. My older sister was private about hers so I didn't know who to turn to. I planned on never telling anyone about it, and even began to strategize about how to get the tissue paper to last longer! I knew what it was when I got it, because of school. None of my friends had started that I knew of.
I was at an amusement park with my best friend once while being on, and I thought I could handle a water ride...wrong?the blood seeped through my now wet pad and was on my shorts all day! My friend noticed and asked me about it...I told her I sat on a red bench that rubbed red paint on me. She said this wasn't very likely and I did my best to get her to believe me. I was so mortified I held back my tears and said I didn't feel good and that I needed to go home.
Once after using the bathroom, I left my bloody tissue in the trash(I normally flushed them, don't know why I trashed them that time)My older sister saw and asked if I had started, I lied and said I hadn't but she knew. She said she had started and that she could get me pads. I stuck with my first reply and she said "fine, when you decide to stop living like a caveman, let me know" which I gave into shortly after. I was very relieved to finally have supplies!! We never told my dad we needed anything, my sis called mom and told her, and she called dad and told him what to buy! What a private family!! I didn't tell my mom, my sister did and when my mom called me excited that I had started I was horrified that she knew and that my sister would do such a thing as tell my mom something that was so personal to me! I will make sure my daughters know it is nothing to be ashamed of!