Back when I was younger I spent 3 weeks in Jersey at the house of my Aunt Betty, my favourite aunt. Aunt Betty was a happy woman, somewhat a pillar of her community, who lived quite close to her twin sister Peggy. Like most of their generation, she believed in good old-fashioned discipline, which […]
My parents never smacked me, although They often threatened to do it. However I would change my behaviour quickly, as I had seen my sister get smacked and it looked awful! One time, my parents had to go out of town to visit my grandfather, who had been admitted to the hospital for surgery. They […]
The following fascinating conversation is about mothers talking about how and why they use Physical Punishment as a form of discipline. I’ve been reminiscing quite a lot lately about the good old-fashioned smacked bottoms I received as a youngster. Some of my very favourite experiences were hearing mothers talk about spanking. I remember vividly an […]
Back when I was younger, my mother had to go into the hospital for a thyroid operation. Because there was nowhere else to go, I, Peter, went to stay with an aunt Gloria, uncle Butch, (I am sure that was not his real name but that’s what they called him) and girl cousin Michelle for […]
My mother conceived me just two weeks after finishing high school. During her high school years, she had a babysitter named Myra. Myra looked after her until she was old enough to be on her own. They stayed in touch even after the babysitting ended. When I was born, my parents got married to ensure […]
This account happened in the 1960s when my Foster parents were out of town for the weekend for a little break. They had left my Foster sister Janice in charge as she was several years older than me and double that age in maturity. Janice was and still is a plain type of person […]
I remember my grandmother well—she was a great influence in my life, and I will never forget her. Her presence was like a warm, comforting blanket, always there to shield me from the harshness of the world. Every summer, we would go to my grandparents’ summer home in Maine for vacation. It was such a […]
Back in the 1970s, long, shaggy hair was all the rage – or so I believed. My misconception was quickly corrected the summer I left my liberal Southern California home to spend my vacation at my Aunt Julia’s dude ranch in West Virginia. Aunt Julia, a plain, respectable Christian lady from West Virginia, thoroughly disapproved […]
This event happened when I was young. I was being watched by Brenda – she was an average size woman in her mid 20s, very plain and simple. She had a no-nonsense attitude and was known for her strictness, but she was also fair and caring. Her brown hair was semi long in a style […]
Nanny was very concerned with sharing. She felt that this was an extremely important part of growing up, and she stressed it with Jeff and me throughout her time with us. Nanny took us to Andrews Pond to feed the ducks. I really loved to do that, and Jeff was learning to talk and already […]