Blessings We Want, vs. Blessings We Have...

A little piece of magic helped me to switch back to positive thinking; it came by way of the re-reading of a quote which I recently was blessed to come across, and then by thankfully contemplating the blessings in my life...

"Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not but reckon up the chief of the blessings you possess, and thankfully remember how you would crave them if they were not yours." Marcus Aurelius

I absolutely love this quote! I love the reminder of how we would "crave" the blessings that we already have, if we did not have them.

Food/words for thought...

Corine

P.S. I love to sit, quiet and still, and just think about my blessings. It is a totally relaxing, and yet energizing and invigorating experience. :D

Independence Day

This is the first Forth of July in which I have had a difficult time celebrating our independence. It is so sad to me that we are loosing so quickly, so much of the wonderful freedoms that we have been so blessed to have.

I am about to go out with my family though, and celebrate... not that which we are loosing, but that which we still have... family and friends, and freedom to choose our responses and what we will be.... freedom to live and to love.

May this day be blessed for us all.


God bless America!

Let freedom ring!

Memory of Anticipation – I’m a Survivor

This is a story regarding childhood spankings.

I posted, then deleted this story about a month ago, so as to give my parents a little privacy with the spanking info in this crazy day and age; but upon recently telling this story to a very amused and delighted fellow camper, I was talked into putting it back up.

The man I told the story to loved it, and thinks people need to hear more stories about kids being spanked. So... after a little thought... this story is back to stay. Enjoy :D

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When I was a kid, I was extremely overly sensitive (highly emotional). If anyone or anything got hurt, I would hurt too (oh gosh :S... I'm still like that! - just forget about it still being that way - OK?)

Anyhow, mom and dad were really into discipline; either you would discipline yourself to behave, or you would BE DISCIPLINED.

I remember quite well, dad's belt, used for spankings (by both mom and dad), and the horrible anticipation of.... can you guess? I'll give you a line or two to think about it.....

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Bingo! The anticipation of WATCHING my siblings be spanked in a fight that I participated in; the guilt and pain was UNBEARABLE!

You have a question? You thought I was going to say the anticipation of being spanked? No, that I could bear (though it did sting!) But watching them be spanked I could not bear! It was the greatest form of torture imaginable to me!

So... what I am about to tell you - is the truth - honest. And though it made me cry at the time, I look back and laugh my head off over it! :D


When dad was gone, and mom had to do the harsh disciplining, she would take us all to her bedroom and get one of dad's belts out of the closet. Then she would have us all line up at the bed (there were 8 of us all together, but a couple or so less than that through the length of time that I was still young enough to be spanked {which I might add was quite old}).

Anyhow, as I was saying... mom would have us all line up in front of mom and dad's bed and have us bend over the bed with our buts in easy reach, so she could go down a nice efficient spanking line. When this happened, I would remember waiting at the end of the line as I listened to the younger kids screaming out in pain; so, my pain would start prematurely.

After this happened a couple of times, the anxiety over the anticipation was so great that I would beg mom; "Please mom! Just spank me first, now, and get it over with!" the moment we entered her room.

But then something happened. Maybe she had compassion, maybe she was just learning new methods as a mom, I don't know what the real maybe was... but things changed.

As soon as I started begging her; "just spank me first and let me leave!" mom would attempt to calm me down, and say things like, "Now just a minute Cory, I want to talk to you all first." (At least, I think she said, 'first.')

I would be so worked up that I would just repeatedly plead with her; "No mom! Please! Please just spank me now and let me leave the room!"

What was a mom to do with a frantic child begging for a spanking?

She finally did what mothers do when they are weakened with begging... she gave me my way; I was spanked ahead of the others and sent from the room.

Oddly though, when the other children came out, they weren't crying. Mom had "talked" to them about what they had done, and decided not to spank them.

This happened a few times.

Though it was traumatic at the time (for me, being spanked wasn't traumatic, seeing or anticipating my siblings being spanked was), it eventually became so funny to me that the memory of it put me into hysterical laughter. To this day I still laugh my head off at the thought of what I, un-necessarily, put myself through! :D I am after all, a survivor! :D

P.S. / Note: My parents were NOT abusive... they spanked calmly, not too hard, and didn't overuse it; and I knew, while being spanked, that they did it out of love. Just thought I should probably add this! TTFN!

July 1, 2009

UPDATE -  I don't believe in spankings anymore (though I was guilty of spanking my kids when they were young and I didn't know what else to do - darn). Here is a link to another post about what a few wise people have to say about spankings.