Wicked stepmother punishment for not being perfect
I just want to put this out there, because until I grew up and told other adults about this, I really thought it was the sort of thing that happened in all families. I've been told that it isn't.
I don't really know when my stepmother started hating me. Maybe she always did.
When I was in the seventh grade, my history teacher gave us weekly quizzes. Once we made a 100 on the quiz, we got to stop taking them. My best friend (already in Mensa, at that age, and who was convinced I belonged in it too) made a 100 on probably the first quiz given.
I was having a harder, more frustrating time. I'd get miss one or two questions.
She was in as much of a hurry for me to finish with the quizzes as I was. But... she made the mistake of mentioning to me that she hoped I got finished with the quizzes on the next Friday, and my stepmother heard her say it.
She demanded to know what Lynn was talking about, and Lynn explained it.
Little did Lynn know that my punishment for not making a perfect grade was that I had to clean the bathroom EVERY SINGLE DAY until the end of the grading period. Doesn't sound that bad though, does it? For that unforgivable crime of making a B, or even an A, that wasn't an absolute 100, I simply must be punished.
However, my stepmother stood in the doorway every day and made me clean the bathroom floor on my hands and knees. Ceramic tile floor, mind you. It wasn't good enough for me to use a mop, either. I had to get on all fours and scrub the floor with a small cloth. And then I had to clean the toilet, the shower, the sinks and the countertop. Every day for 6 weeks. I'm surprised she didn't make me do it all with my toothbrush.
Of course, this all happened while my father was working every week in a city 75 miles away, and only coming home on the weekends. He never knew about it until I was an adult.
I was a kid - I knew better than to second-guess my stepmother's judgment. I figured Dad would support her anyway. I thought that was what I deserved for not being perfect. That everything that goes wrong in my life is my justifiable punishment for not being absolutely 100% perfect.
When I grew up and started to value myself slightly more, I mentioned this story to a few people who were absolutely horrified. My sister told her mother in law about it once, and finally, I had the word of a "real" adult who said that she was wrong to have done this to me.
Now I have to ask, is it right to demand that your kids are perfect? Or does one do that knowing that they'll fail, and you'll get to gleefully issue some sadistic punishment? The daily entertainment, for 42 days straight.
To tell the truth, I was afraid to say anything to anyone at the time. I thought that people would think I was spinning some kind of Cinderella fairy tale to get attention for myself and to get my stepmother into some kind of trouble.
How many times did I hear, "If you can make As and Bs with no effort, you should be making straight As all the time"? Who punishes their kids for making As and Bs?
I don't really know when my stepmother started hating me. Maybe she always did.
When I was in the seventh grade, my history teacher gave us weekly quizzes. Once we made a 100 on the quiz, we got to stop taking them. My best friend (already in Mensa, at that age, and who was convinced I belonged in it too) made a 100 on probably the first quiz given.
I was having a harder, more frustrating time. I'd get miss one or two questions.
She was in as much of a hurry for me to finish with the quizzes as I was. But... she made the mistake of mentioning to me that she hoped I got finished with the quizzes on the next Friday, and my stepmother heard her say it.
She demanded to know what Lynn was talking about, and Lynn explained it.
Little did Lynn know that my punishment for not making a perfect grade was that I had to clean the bathroom EVERY SINGLE DAY until the end of the grading period. Doesn't sound that bad though, does it? For that unforgivable crime of making a B, or even an A, that wasn't an absolute 100, I simply must be punished.
However, my stepmother stood in the doorway every day and made me clean the bathroom floor on my hands and knees. Ceramic tile floor, mind you. It wasn't good enough for me to use a mop, either. I had to get on all fours and scrub the floor with a small cloth. And then I had to clean the toilet, the shower, the sinks and the countertop. Every day for 6 weeks. I'm surprised she didn't make me do it all with my toothbrush.
Of course, this all happened while my father was working every week in a city 75 miles away, and only coming home on the weekends. He never knew about it until I was an adult.
I was a kid - I knew better than to second-guess my stepmother's judgment. I figured Dad would support her anyway. I thought that was what I deserved for not being perfect. That everything that goes wrong in my life is my justifiable punishment for not being absolutely 100% perfect.
When I grew up and started to value myself slightly more, I mentioned this story to a few people who were absolutely horrified. My sister told her mother in law about it once, and finally, I had the word of a "real" adult who said that she was wrong to have done this to me.
Now I have to ask, is it right to demand that your kids are perfect? Or does one do that knowing that they'll fail, and you'll get to gleefully issue some sadistic punishment? The daily entertainment, for 42 days straight.
To tell the truth, I was afraid to say anything to anyone at the time. I thought that people would think I was spinning some kind of Cinderella fairy tale to get attention for myself and to get my stepmother into some kind of trouble.
How many times did I hear, "If you can make As and Bs with no effort, you should be making straight As all the time"? Who punishes their kids for making As and Bs?
posted by Me at 10:16 PM
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