The Kitten
Life with Dad wasn't all fun and games. Dad had a bit of a temper, and he could be a very stern disciplinarian. My brother and I both tested him. I had a particularly annoying problem: I just do not hear the word "no." Whenever Dad tried to tell me "no," I went all around him trying to get what I want. Most of the time I succeeded - there are advantages, you know, to being Daddy's little girl! But I do remember one time I didn't get my way...
My grandparents lived on a farm in North Georgia, and we visited them frequently when my brother and I were small. Back in those days, Georgia's expressway system hadn't been completed, and the 60-mile journey took several hours.
I've always been fascinated by cats. When I was about four or five, I really did not want to have a cat - I wanted to be a cat! Well, on one trip to my grandparents when I was about four years old, I discovered that one of the barn cats had a litter of kittens. I wanted one! "No," my parents said. "Those kittens are too young - they still need their mama," explained my grandmother.
All I heard was that impossible word "No!" Of course the barn cats were wild and tried to run away from me. But the kittens couldn't run fast - and I could. I managed to catch one of the kittens and sneaked it into the car when we were leaving. I had a kitten! Try to tell ME "no!"
About halfway home, my parents heard the kitten crying and realized what I'd done. No matter that Dad was tired and would have to be up at 4:30 in the morning to go to work - that kitten had to be taken back to its mother.
"Miss Brenda?" asked my dad. "Do you know what's waiting for you when we get home?" I immediately started crying and cried all the way home. Not only was I not going to get to keep that adorable little kitten, but when my dad called me "Miss Brenda," I knew I was going to get a spanking. Even today, I've had to ask my friends to teach their kids to call me something other than "Miss Brenda" - that name preceded so many spankings when I was a child that it makes me nervous today to hear a 3-year-old call me that! It wasn't, mind you, that Dad was a child abuser or overly strict, it was simply that I refused to hear "no." I was such an angel!
My grandparents lived on a farm in North Georgia, and we visited them frequently when my brother and I were small. Back in those days, Georgia's expressway system hadn't been completed, and the 60-mile journey took several hours.
I've always been fascinated by cats. When I was about four or five, I really did not want to have a cat - I wanted to be a cat! Well, on one trip to my grandparents when I was about four years old, I discovered that one of the barn cats had a litter of kittens. I wanted one! "No," my parents said. "Those kittens are too young - they still need their mama," explained my grandmother.
All I heard was that impossible word "No!" Of course the barn cats were wild and tried to run away from me. But the kittens couldn't run fast - and I could. I managed to catch one of the kittens and sneaked it into the car when we were leaving. I had a kitten! Try to tell ME "no!"
About halfway home, my parents heard the kitten crying and realized what I'd done. No matter that Dad was tired and would have to be up at 4:30 in the morning to go to work - that kitten had to be taken back to its mother.
"Miss Brenda?" asked my dad. "Do you know what's waiting for you when we get home?" I immediately started crying and cried all the way home. Not only was I not going to get to keep that adorable little kitten, but when my dad called me "Miss Brenda," I knew I was going to get a spanking. Even today, I've had to ask my friends to teach their kids to call me something other than "Miss Brenda" - that name preceded so many spankings when I was a child that it makes me nervous today to hear a 3-year-old call me that! It wasn't, mind you, that Dad was a child abuser or overly strict, it was simply that I refused to hear "no." I was such an angel!
posted by Brenda King | 6:44 PM
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