Oh, to be a child….

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz

A fellow blogger Rebeckah Posted recently about a problem with her son.
He got caught in school giving the middle finger. He learned this new trick from buddies in school. But he was the one caught. go figure, right?

Rebeckah was so distraught, thinking that she did something wrong as his Mom.

Don’t we all feel that way sometimes, when our kids don’t act perfect.

Anyone that has read any of her blog will attest to the fact that she is a fabulous and loving mother….He will be fine and won’t grow up to be in a chronic finger giver.

One finger, what harm can that do?

This brought up a few memories for me.
First off, the finger.

A few years back I was in the car and I saw someone give someone else the finger for bad driving….
One of the girls saw this motion, heard my gasp, and then asked what happened.
Before I could think I just said: “her gave her the finger.”

Of course I was hit with an onslaught of questions…

what finger?

    what does that mean?

    Can you really give a finger to someone?

They were to young to understand and if I had explained it to them, I was quaranteed to see the “finger” given in the house.

So being the perfect mother that I am (am too) I made up a story having to do with something like if you are an unhappy person you put up your pinkie finger.

Yes, I did. It was used for about a week, and then forgotten like everything else.

This all reminded me of getting into trouble myself in school.

I went to school for one thing: Social hour.

I had no interest in learning. That was boooooorrring and it interrupted my socializing.
I wanted to enjoy my friends. I had a plethora of friends in elementary school.

I always got into trouble for onespecific thing. Laughing.

I remember on 3 specific occasions that I was asked to stop laughing in school.

You know what happens when you are asked/told NOT to laugh?
You just laugh harder.

On all 3 of those occasions my best friend and I were taken to the front of the class and………….we were SPANKED.

Once in 1st grade and twice in 3rd grade. (we must have been separated in 2nd grade)
Can you imagine? The pain of the paddle was not nearly as bad as my humiliation.
I remember my face being so flush that I felt like it was on fire.
And do you know what? I never learned my lesson. I still laugh.
Sometimes at inappropriate times.
My girls tell me I laugh TOO much!
What? how can one laugh too much?
I tell them they are lucky their Mom laughs at all. I could be crying all the time…..

C’mon, could anyone really spank this little angel?
Perhaps Mrs. Duncan was jealous of my short dress and matching scarf…haters. I still never leave the house without a purse.

I am so surprised I did not get away with more…really……

omg….that is my deluxe kitchen set in the background…..reminds me that I need to go clean mine!

16 thoughts on “Oh, to be a child….”

  1. Awww…you were (and are!) such a cutie pie!! One day when we were children, my mom was cut of by some jerk, and blurted out the \”f\” word (gasp!) She immediately began back peddling, and told us that was just some word she heard in high school, but didn\’t really know what it meant. I still laugh every time I think about that story!

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  2. You have me laughing so hard with this. Not that I think giving the finger is funny but the rest of it is. I love the pinky story you made up for your girls. I used to do that with my kids. You have brought me down memory lane of the things I did with my kids and that makes me laugh. See, I too have this laughing problem. I have told my kids the exact same thing over the years, that they should just be glad they have a mother that laughs so much because I could be crying. Got into trouble all through school for it and I never learned my lesson because I still do it… and actually got kicked out of a yoga/relaxation class once for laughing. Now how embarrassing is that? The teacher did talk to me after class and she said the reasons she asked me to leave is because she was almost ready to start laughing herself. So yeah, I laugh at inappropriate times too…my children and friends could tell you stories about this. You hit it on the nail when you say it does no good for someone to ask me to stop because it only makes it worse. You look adorable in those pictures…and how could anyone spank such a sweet looking little girl as you?Thank you for the laugh! Lori

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  3. You are a sweetie. Perspective, right? What would make a teacher think they have the right to spank a child? And exactly what did they expect to teach you with corporal punishment? I am all for respect and teaching self-discipline, but hitting a child in class? NO.

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  7. well you\’ve never changed. you must have been a happy little girl. imagine trying to beat that out of a child????we used to get the belt in school. a leather strap with six tails. on both hands.bloody sadists.tho\’ i never got it for laughing too much.probably for giving someone the finger.oops.but we used to give 2 fingers back then in the uk. that was very bad. one finger is a n. american thing.:-))

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  10. you just gotta laugh… you gotta! i am just glad they didn\’t have those spanking paddles at seaworld! we woulda been in trouble then 🙂 but seriously, i do love the way you parent. your girls may someday think you deserved to be in the looney bin all along, but not me! i have been giving out your you-better-believe-in santa advice for years! love it! and you 🙂

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  11. Anonymous

    Those pictures are SO cute!! We had Siamese cats when I was little:)We always told our daughter that the middle finger meant you were the \”Number One Man\”!! She knows better now. The only ugly word I ever allowed myself to say in front of her was \”jerk\”. One afternoon, I picked her up from daycare, and some guy was driving as slow as molasses in front of us. My precious little angel shouted, \”GET OUT OF MY MOMMY\’S WAY, JERK\”!!!!!!!!

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  12. I just found your blog via Frasypoo. And I\’m so glad I did. What a great blog. Giving the finger brought back a memory of when my 9 yr old (now 16) gave ME the finger when he thought I wasn\’t looking! He began crying hysterically because I busted him! Nevertheless, I\’m a good mom and 7 years later he is a great teenager that has the utmost respect for me and is such a gentlemen, I couldn\’t be more proud. I think a lot of kids \”give the finger\” because they\’re not sure what it means, although they know it\’s \”bad\”. As parents I think we need to keep things in perspective and remember that just because our kids do something unpleasant, it\’s not necessarily a reflection on us as parents. Society plays such a big part and we parents have to get in there an undo a lot of the damage from that.

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  15. I LOVE these pics of you.And yes, of COURSE my memories of us in HS always involved laughing – ALWAYS! (In fact, didn\’t we frequently get scowled at by some of the \”humorless\” teachers at T.H.S. for that VERY thing?!) :-)I remember corporal punishment being allowed at my elementary school as well…. seems so barbaric now to let a teacher hit a child, doesn\’t it? (And to let them hit a child in front of the class to add to the humiliation?! Unthinkable…) Glad your spirit remained UNSCATHED and UNTARNISHED, my darling friend!

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