Wednesday's Words on a Friday
The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.
The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.
If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.
This month the words/prompts are supplied by Lissa and can be found here
This week's words/prompts are:
1. cruel 2. return 3. sneak 4. solitary 5. middle
Also including Charlotte's colour of the month: glass blue elephant
Here is my story:
Grandma, I don’t want
to hear anymore about the middle child always acting up because she’s
“forgotten”, it’s old-fashioned thinking. Maybe things really were different in
your day, with the eldest having privileges and the youngest being babied, but
what about all the others? Surely the five “middle” children didn’t all act up?
And Lucy is an “only”
middle, not one lost in a large family. She gets plenty of attention and
opportunities and knows right from wrong. I’ve spoken with her and she admits
she knew she was doing wrong to sneak out and meet her friends and very wrong
to steal the tiny blue glass elephant.
I’ve arranged a meeting
with the store owner for later this afternoon, just before the shop closes.
Lucy will apologise and return the trinket, then spend the next weekend in
self-imposed “solitary”, which is her idea not mine, so don’t be trying to tell
me that’s cruel. She says it will give her time to catch up on some History
homework.
Well done, Lucy - you're growing up and have some fine role models around you.
ReplyDeletePrivileges for the eldest? Hmmm. I had to fight for many things my Brother got "for free".
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand... Dad taught me how to drive at age 14 and I took off by myself, so Bro had to wait till official driving school... But, yes, he always was "the Little Prince"...
There was and is no middle in my family, also Ingo has but a younger Brother (who has 4 kids).
Lucy sure does not stand for Lucifer, the way she takes her "punishment"!
Iris; no, Lucy is a girl in this one. I don't rmemebr privileges for the eldest either, but in some families the eldest had more responsibilities and usually the youngest was babied and spoilt. I was a middle in between my older sister and younger brother, but if you add in two more half brothers and a bunch of step-siblings I was just one of many middles.
DeleteThat I understood, that´s why I wrote "her" punishment. But reckon also girls can be little devils ;-)
DeleteI think middles often swim with the flow.. Strange in my family: Despite my Brother was spoiled there are near to no pics of him whereas from me.. pics, videos... Same in his family, I have three photo-books of the first born. Nothing from the second. One would think my Brother´d learned...
Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteJenn Jilks; thank you.
DeleteVery nice! I love this idea! I may have to join in someday!
ReplyDeleteMaryFran; we would like more people joining in.
DeleteBeing the middle child and extremely obedient, I was the one who needed less supervising. My 3 brothers were problematic and my baby sister never needed me. Being in the middle was a sad and lonely place.
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane; I needed less supervising too, but was never lonely with plenty of books to keep me company and take my imagination to faraway places.
DeleteHere are some thoughts about being the middle child:
ReplyDeleteBeing the middle child held no joy, no recognition. It was as if Jenny wore a mask and was invisible. Being solitary by nature, it was fine. Most of the time it was just okay.
Her brothers were cruel to the point of pain. She found herself doing their laundry.
Doing their laundry provided many opportunities for misery. Sneaking into their rooms Jenny turned shirts inside out, exchanged the underpants into different drawers, one drawer was never disturbed.
At the end of eventful days, Jenny smiled. They would never know. They would suspect each other.
When they were at the supper table, Jenny dished up their plates from the stove (her chore) adding extra salt, lots of pepper here and there. For good measure, Jenny spit in the gravy.
Their toothbrushes were ready for a squirt of Hemorrhoid cream rubbed into the bristles. Shoes were scattered around the kitchen, where they had left them. Itching powder was hidden under the bathroom sink, why did she not know. But Jenny sprinkled just a bit in the toe well of each shoe.
Life would never return to normal after that. Jenny’s creativity and sneakiness were her gifts, she discovered. Until or if she were ever discovered, the family would finally see this middle child differently.
Susan Kane; I feel quite sorry for this Jenny, having to resort to such trickeries, yet still not being noticed.
DeleteLovely tale. The never forgotten middle child who is often forgotten by many.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D; probably why middle children often learn to fend for themselves and become self-sufficient from a young age.
DeleteI always felt - as an older child - that I had to break the way, be a test object and bear the responsibilty for the smaller one's antics as well - always I was told that I ought to know better ... which I clearly did not. Being not noticed (with time for reading), and having many siblings were my dream scenarioes.
ReplyDeleteYour Lucy is a good sort, and well written too.
I forgot: Thank you for using my colour!
DeleteCharlotte; I'd guess that is usually the way for oldest children, but then they also get to do things on their own before the younger ones are allowed, such as going to the shop for a newspaper maybe, or going to play at a friends home etc. or just being left "in charge" for a few minutes. Lucy is a very sensible girl mostly and is sorry her friends talked her into sneaking out and stealing.
DeleteI've think of older child having the harder time because they have to an example for the younger and that the youngest gets spoiled and middle, not so much as ignored but more like they are only half ignored. Lucy sounds sensible. Good use of the prompts.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
lissa; I don't really know about the older being an example, my own older sister was brain damaged at birth, so isn't an example for anyone, so I was in the middle but mostly left to myself because of course the older sister and baby brother needed more attention.
DeleteThe embarrassment of returning the trinket and apologizing is probably the worst punishment, and one that will stick. My 4-year-old Genius once took a toy car off the pegboard at a grocery store checkout. When I saw it in his hand as we were leaving, I marched him back to the register to hand it over and apologize. The cashier smiled and was nice to him, and said it was no big deal, but I wanted him to remember that moment. He never took anything again THAT I KNOW OF!
ReplyDeleteVal; the returning and apologising is always the best way, kids seem to remember that embarrassment. I'm glad you taught Genius the right way.
DeleteSome middle children are full of good sense and do very well, it sounds like Lucy will.
ReplyDeletemessymimi; I find most children, middle or not are usually sensible. Lucy never steals again and chooses better friends.
DeleteMy parents were so cruel to me that in 1967 they refused to let me return to school after the summer holidays. They called me a liar and a sneak and put me in a kind of solitary confinement under the stairs of our house. There was an electricity meter in the middle of my cupboard gaol where essentially I lived for the better part of ten years. It was coloured glass blue elephant which is a hue that luckily I have never seen anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteYorkshire Pudding; are you Harry Potter in disguise?? Living in a cupboard under the stairs?? Good story.
Delete