wooden spoon

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These are turbulent times my friends. I took a moment to shut off the news and reflect upon my journey in life. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. I have become much more aware of that fact as life continues to pass on by. I was an only child and I was a handful. I challenged everything someone would say….a trait that continues today. I had wonderful parents…thankfully Mom is still alive today. Times were different back then. There was no such thing as “time out.” Each of my parents had their preferred punishment weapon. Dad liked the belt and Mom knew how to work that wooden spoon.

I still shudder at the sound I would hear from the kitchen when I would push Mom too far. The opening of the drawer beneath the microwave…then the sound of her fumbling through the kitchen utensils….suddenly the noise stops…..she has found her weapon of choice….THE WOODEN SPOON!!!

She spins like Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral….we make eye contact….she raises her weapon (which oddly enough was being used to stir spaghetti sauce just twelve hours ago) and makes her approach to “teach me a lesson.” I immediately run towards the circular dining room table. I use the table like a blocking sled to stay away from her boisterous advance. Suddenly I trip in my “stocking feet.” Mom straddles me like a LA cop. All of a sudden I feel like “Rodney King Light.” Good thing I ran Mom around the dining room table to tire her out. She only beat me for about ten minutes. Then she stood up and said “I’m gonna reheat yesterday’s spaghetti…want some?” Compared to 2020….that seems pretty normal to me.

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adrian-peterson-son-abuse-1Here we go again.  Another week and another problem for the NFL.  This time around the player in focus is Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.  He was deactivated for last week’s game as child abuse allegations surfaced.  Peterson allegedly injured one of his children while using a “switch” in an act of discipline.

I am not a parent but I can speak about corporal punishment based on being on the receiving end as a kid.  I had the best parents a kid could ask for and I am very fortunate that my mother is still alive.  I was a handful as a kid.  I’m a handful as an adult.  Even when mom is over my house and she wrestles through the drawer looking for a wooden spoon my first reaction is to run to the dining room table and get ready for “the chase.”  Dad was a “belt guy.”  The sound of that belt unbuckling has carved an indelible tattoo on my subconscious.

So what is my point here?  Simple.  Time out wasn’t an option for me.  It simply wouldn’t reinforce the point of discipline that I needed to behave.  I never looked at what my mother and father did as “abuse.”  I misbehaved and I deserved it.  To hit a child with a switch is beyond my comprehension but keep in mind that is how Adrian Peterson was disciplined as a child.  It doesn’t make it right by any means but keep in mind what we allow is what we teach.  In order for us to evolve as a society it’s necessary for us to acknowledge or mistakes and correct or behavior.