Are you looking for a belting? Today's five minute Freewrite
@mariannewest posts daily freewrite prompts.
Today's prompt from @mariannewest is Belt.
I haven't done one of these for a while.
I have struggles to put two words together with unlimited time.
Maybe this process will help. I will just see what comes.
"You're asking for a belting!"
His words were always the same. It was all he knew of parenting, his go to strategy.
It wasn't at all scary unless the words were combined with the actual unbuckling of his belt. Even when he did make a gesture towards the buckle, sometimes he simply couldnt be bothered following through with the task of getting off the couch. He had to be angry enough to peel himself away from the tv.
It was a combination of a gesture towards the unbuckling and a certain shade of red that flushed his face. It was then that we knew he meant business.It was time to run.
We didn't need to run far, we didn't run away. We would just make tracks, Emma and me, for the old wardrobe in her bedroom. Although we were about the same size, she was nearly five and I was three.
That heavy set art deco wardrobe had a small child sized space behind it. Not so much a crawl space as a shimmy.
At the first sign of an actual belting we would link hands and she would ease our way in, squeezing just far enough along. 42 inch belt length I suppose, just out of reach.
He would find us but he was fat, we knew that, it wasn't about hiding really. He would know where to find us, and he would only ever make a half baked attempt, then he would lose interest and go back to the TV.
He always cooled down quickly, then would pretend it was a joke. Maybe it was, it was definitely some kind of game. We learnt to laugh too, at the antics, he could be fun sometimes, it was just hard to predict when is all.
Sometimes he would catch us and he would use that belt, it would sting. Other times when he caught us he would strike that belt hard, intentionally miss, and it would be evident that it was jokes time. He would laugh and we would too in relief at not feeing the kiss of that belt, and also in a learned response. That was the closest we came to a game with him and we learned to enjoy it in a way.
I was never quite sure if I was in for a belting that would sting my skin, or a sound that would belt out from his lungs and thunder across the house. He laughed his way back towards the TV and the football game, re-looping his belt into is trousers as he went.
I must confess I did spend closer to 10 minutes.
I did the initial 5 minutes, then another minor edit and spell correction.
Thanks @mariannewest I have been feeling very stuck, this was a great activity to just write without thinking too hard.
Freewrite prompts are posted daily by @mariannewest. I've just realised there is a new one out for today already -
Witches.
https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-137-5-minute-freewrite-monday-prompt-witches
Perhaps you would like to have a go, or check out the many interpretations of the prompt by the growing number of Steemit writers joining the freewrite challenge.
If you are like me and not really sure what it is all about but keen to try, check out @snook's post from a couple of months ago. This post will take you step by step and explains in a very straight forward way, exactly how to approach it.
Well this was not bad for using only 10 minutes, and I think this exercise helps! ;)
Thanks for commenting. I have been a bit stuck with writing, so I thought I'd try the free write again. It's a pretty cool way to just scrawl and not get too hung up on word selection. And I really appreciate the not too bad, I am tired of the spamming, this is amazing I up vote you, you should up vote me now, it isn't a master piece it is a 5 minute exercise in which I am a novice. Your comment is appreciated for its honest encouragement. Thank you
A good write, GBM. Fortunately, for most, parenting has changed. Terrifying times back then.
Outwardly for this style of parenting is less accepted , but I don't think statistics have changed too much. Sadly.
Thanks for your support. You are too lovely to me.
I just noticed you resteemed the 100 days of poetry. Are you doing that? How exciting and scary. I have signed up. I hope I last.
I have ... I've posted my first attempt. Come take a look, we can help each through it:)
I was here to deliver the prompt...but since you already have it...
Anyway, loved your story.... it's sad for kids that have to grow up like this.
Thank you for stopping by. I am a sporadic steemer I'm afraid, I need to find more structure to improve my writing. It is something I would like to do.
Thanks for your encouragement.
Occasionally I received the belt of punishment, I'm not sure if that is the best method to raise a child... but I also see children who do with their parents what they want and these are never reprimanded.
Yeah, a tiny bit of fact in my fiction. Not my idea of parenting either.
Kids want boundaries and to be able to predict what is expected with consistency. The ones you describe are no doubt desperate for structure too.
The way I see it, our kids learn that it is against the law to assault anyone. You can't go up to someone at the mall and belt them because you are angry or don't like the way they behave. If we teach them that they however are the exception to that rule, we are teaching them they are less than others.
Thanks for commenting and sharing your experience , your work is good. I am following and looking forward to seeing more of your art.