do you know what it’s like
to sit with your hips & your thighs
from ass to knee
pressed uncomfortably tight
…against the person riding your
very
last
nerve?
when not 5 minutes ago…
in full blown fury…
you were literally pulling each other’s hair
words thrown like rocks
colorful phrases splintering the air
threats in the heat of a moment
almost as hot as your head
reduced suddenly to prisoners
pinned by invisible manacles
forced to abide side by side
until the anger cooled
& reason finally ruled
do you know how long that can take?
7 minutes…no more & no less
we pushed those damn buttons
like they were on speed dial
finely tuned & acutely aware
of each & EVERY one
guaranteed to piss off to the extreme
brats…some might say
but that’s not we called each other
siblings — cousins — family
& when we got out of hand
…always in pairs…
there was one place we’d invariably land
we’d look up to see Her…
fists on Her hips…
voice firm…but not yelling
“that is enough!
knock it off!
both of you!
right now!
put your butts in The Chair!”
you could hear the wining
the pitiful beg
“please, no, I’ll be good”
but once She’d determined the sentence
pleading was to no avail
She’d worked it out
years of experimentation & study
7 minutes got the job done
2 asses snug…bun to bun
…in one big comfy chair
no room to move without touching each other
until She (& only She) gave the word
the longer we fought…
the longer we stayed
we learned to make peace in a hurry
if not before…
then AFTER…
we got The Chair
You had that entire situation locked down!
Savoring the good memories, the brattiness, the pranks, the fun…that’s what’s up.
Childhood should be this 🙂
Grandma knew exactly what to do with us. 6 of us & she never lost her temper. Good memories…Thank you, girl
Absolutely🌺
hello beautiful Willow this was a twist I didn’t know where you were going it’s very clever and relateable I had to clean my dad’s grandfather clock when naughty 💕
I hated getting in trouble. It was usually my cousin & her brother. She was ornery as hell too, would try to hug him when he was so pissed. Grandma had to leave the room to hide her giggles. Thank you, Brenda 🧡
Brilliantly penned, Willow. Into the book it belongs! Amazing storytelling my friend, I can relate. Not that I got in trouble a lot, but when I did, not a fun time by any means of the imagination. Excellent work, as always. Appreciate you.
Damian
Always seemed like disappointing grandma was worse than the punishment itself. So I did my level best to not get in trouble much. Not with grandma, at any rate. 😂 Thank you, my friend
I love “old timey” pieces. It brings back the good ol days, even if we didn’t know that they were, then. I would’ve preferred the chair over the usual ass whuppin.
But eh, I survived.
It’s always interesting to me how others lived and dealt with their own upbringings. This was a wonderful story indeed. I raised my kids on “time out” instead of spankings, as your story reflects. It’s a better choice.
Very entertaining write, Willow. Bravo.
Don’t get too cozy in the “old timey” corner. I’m all over the map these days. Who knows where it will take me next?
Yeah, my girl was raised on time out too. Little rascal knew exactly when she was about to land there too. Look me right in the eye & say “I go to time out now?” Good kid…that girl gave me side aches holding in the laughter.
Thank you for the visit. Good to see you roaming the new halls
It’s good to see YOU here, too.