This weekend's Trifextra challenge: write a 33-word explanation of what scares you (or your character). I can handle psychotic clowns, serial killers and possessed dolls. But this truly scares the crap out of me:
“That’s it. You’re done with that kid.”
“No!”“Are you crazy? You just said he hit you!”
“I love him.”
“No, you don’t. You’re 15.
“But … I’m pregnant.”
(pause)
"Quick! Hide Daddy's gun!"
DISCLAIMER: The gun thing is tongue in cheek. I would probably say something similar in this scenario because smartassery is a coping mechanism for me. Hubs doesn't even own a gun ... yet. :)
That is scary.
ReplyDeleteAnd "hide Daddy's guns"? Perhaps even scarier.
Hubs doesn't actually own a gun. (I think he's the only man in South Carolina who doesn't.) But, he might need to get one before Daughter enters the teen years. *shudders*
DeleteOh.Ivy. I try not to react too quickly to pieces like this. Mostly because I am the mom of boys (and I get a little annoyed when fathers of daughters will say things like, "hey Gio and Jacob you're cute but stay away from my daughter until she's 35,,,like it's the boys that are the bad influence. )
ReplyDeletebut this was written well (as always) and it happens, like my mom says if this was 1843 she'd be old enough to be married and have a family, but 15 is just too young to be a mom in 2013.
and who among us hasn't said those exact words? "but I love him.." which would counter my above scene about my own sons...that we love in spite of, but we do. We have. We will.
let's hope that we give all our children enough love to not want to seek it from the wrong people, gender aside. :)
XO
Kir, thank you for the thoughtful comment! I have a son, too, so I totally get what you're saying. In fact, I had a situation recently that drives home your point. My son and this girl liked each other. Her parents acted as if my son were out to soil their innocent little angel. Grrrr ...
DeleteOf course the thought of my daughter becoming pregnant at 15 terrifies me, but--when I wrote this--I was thinking of every beautiful, talented, amazing girl I've known who settled for an abusive guy who clearly didn't realize her worth. I want so much more for my baby girl. As for my wonderful son, I want him to have the kind of love he deserves, too.
YES! Yes, Ivy to all of it. I responded on the WRONG reply because I'm blonde...LOL but YES. This is why I love you.
DeleteHaha! Kir, you rock. Love, love, love you, girly!
DeleteI'm jumping in here. Happened to me, too. My son and a little girl were being cute together, and the parents actually asked me to make sure he wasn't being inappropriate. He was five. Meanwhile, their little darling was the one trying to smooch my kid. Sigh. Why do we put this stuff on kids when they are so little?
DeleteWhile I'm on my tirade, I'm also going to thank you for linking up and remind you to vote. ;-)
Oooh! I'd kill that kid myself! Very good piece!
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed some of my sisters' ex-boyfriends are still walking the earth. Dads and their daughters!
DeleteI agree of course, being a daughter , having a sister that just ended a very bad marriage to a very bad man. Hell..being the daughter of a dad that was physically and emotionally abusive to me and my mom, sister and brother, I get it. I do. Some of the men that have told me they "loved me" should have been put in their place a long time ago too.
DeleteI guess I just want to protect all our children. I won't go the way of "No one will be good enough for my sons" either, because hey I felt like that too from moms of boys.
I just want my sons to respect themselves and respect girls, women, other people. I want them to know that saying "she's not good enough for you " or hearing "you aren't good enough for her" is exactly what I am trying NOT to teach.
of course I want them to find a girl (or boy) they love, of course I want them to treat that person with love, respect and honor, of course I want that person to treat them the same...and I'll try every single day to not let my opinion be the only one that counts. Their hearts will know....and I'm there to hold their hearts, no matter what.
love you Ivy. xo
Well said, Kir! I want exactly the same for both my son and daughter.
DeleteI've seen too many women I love stuck in (physically and/or emotionally) abusive relationships. And I hate that I can count you among those women. :( That's something I couldn't sit by and watch happen to my kid--either kid.
I have to confess that I'm more worried about the girl my son will choose to marry. I can't help it. He's such a sweet, thoughtful young man. She better appreciate him. But, if she doesn't, I will TRY to keep my opinions to myself (even if I have to duct tape my mouth and hide in another room when they visit.) :) My daughter is feisty (like her mama). I wish any man who loves her the best of luck.
Love you right back, Kir. And I love how you're raising your boys. What would you say to an arranged marriage between one of your sons and a slightly older woman? (She's 11.)
:)
that would mean we'd have HOLIDAYS together, right? I'm in, or we can just get together and hope that LOVE BLOSSOMS. ;)
DeleteYES! Sounds like a plan! :)
DeleteAs a mom to sons and a daughter, we joke about lining up baseball bats at the door so we can mow them down as they knock. This was a good piece.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I so get that. Thanks for reading.
DeleteI have two sons, and all I can do is pray I'm raising them right. Time will tell. It takes two to make the bad decision, though.
ReplyDeleteHaving a daughter is a different kind of anxiety that I won't know. Judging by how my parents reacted with me, it seems there's a fiercer need to protect her.
I totally agree. Two people are in the relationship. Two people are responsible for what comes out of that relationship. If my daughter wound up pregnant at 15 (God forbid), I wouldn't assign all the blame to the boy. That was obviously a joint action. But if a boy hits her, he's fair game in my mind. *cocks gun*
DeleteHaving one of each, I pray that my daughter ends up with the kind of man I'm (hopefully) raising my son to be.
pregnant at 15! hide daddy's gun . this is a bit scary.nice piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThat is a serious situation... and complicated as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is a need of frankness between parents and the kids so that they can discuss matters such as dignity, self-respect, and sex-related matters.
Powerful write. :-)
-HA
I agree 100%! Thanks, HA. :)
DeleteAnd people wonder why I am afraid of big hair.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure having a teen is terrifying on it's own. I can't even imagine.
ReplyDeleteTerrifying doesn't even scratch the surface.
DeleteThanks for reading, Mel!
...the perfect picture of fear. not being a parent, i can only imagine what that feels like. all the best to you and your kids! great piece :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm raising them the best I can. And praying. :)
DeleteAnything hurtful to your child is a nightmare for every parent. I can't imagine the pain at something so huge. With my two sons, I have diff fears from pregnancy. But I can totally get the gun part.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sini! Parenting provides a wealth of scary situations. I'm just praying we all make it through reasonably unscathed. :)
DeleteHey, glad the kittens are safe now. and Loved ur title...
ReplyDeleteDitto Kir's comments. Very real and well written. As a father of 3 adult children, two girls and a boy, I went though all this anxiety from both perspectives.
ReplyDeleteSo you and your kids survived the teen years? There's hope!
DeleteThanks, lumdog. :)
So much packed in to 33 words. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, MS!
DeleteHow a vicious circle remains vicious...
ReplyDeleteTough places you write from, Ivy!
I go where my mine takes me. Scary stuff sometimes.
DeleteThanks for reading, Kymm!
Kids having kids is a scary thing. Half of us would not exist if we understood the perils.
ReplyDeleteTrue. Very true!
DeleteAs my daughter grows closer to teenage years, this thought crosses my mind. The fact that I also know so many people that had children at that age and younger. It's not a mother's dream come true for a son/daughter to say 'we're having a baby' at a young age. But it does happen, and then some young mother's live a success story. The abusive part would be the most terrifying thing. Even after the one being abused realizes they deserve better, the child keeps them somehow connected. I definitely need to rid all fire arms. :) Great post.
ReplyDeleteThat was EXACTLY my point. I could handle the teen pregnancy. (I wouldn't be thrilled about it, but I could deal with that.) But my daughter being tied to an abusive partner would absolutely kill me. Ugh!
DeleteThank you for the thoughtful comment!
Both the abuse and daddy's kid scares me ... yik ... so scary.
ReplyDeleteIt's the stuff of my nightmares.
DeleteI'd be freaking out quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteMe, too! Thanks for reading, Draug.
DeleteThat is scary indeed!
ReplyDeleteYep. Give me spiders and snakes any day. But not this.
DeleteWow, as always, Ivy, I can feel your pulse in your words, once again, exact words - having a teenage daughter, 15, I know the fear.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, TIZ. Good luck with your daughter. I'm sure you're raising her well, so she has a good foundation. It's those outside forces that scare me!
DeleteYep. That would scare me too. Nicely done Ivy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne!
DeleteIt is funny how these things go. When deciding what to write for my fear, I wrestled with two choices; the one I did NOT go with was, being unable to protect my family. If either of my girls were abused by their boyfriends or husbands, I fear the extent of the anger and need for vengence that would arise from within the darkest, most securely locked down regions of my being. Thanks for a, deceptively, deep and moving piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tom. I can tell how much you love your daughters. The bond between daddies and their little girls is so powerful. I don't know what my usually calm hubby would do if someone were hurting our baby girl. It's a scary thought. I hope you and he never, ever have to go there.
DeleteThanks for always taking the time to write such thoughtful feedback.
Ivy, my daughter is 17. I could handle the pregnancy part, but having a guy hit her? Fury of hell comes to mind...
ReplyDeleteGreat piece!
Thank you, Valerie. That's my point exactly. I would rather she not have a baby so young, but we could get through that. Some guy putting his hands on my little girl? No telling what I would do.
DeleteScary indeed! "But I love him..: heard it to many times.
ReplyDeleteI've heard it way too many times to count. I so don't want that for my little girl.
DeleteThe first thing that popped in my head with the last line was the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers when the fathers come to get their daughters and Milly's baby starts to cry and all the girls claim it's their baby. Six shotgun weddings.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
Never seen the movie, but it was one of my late sister's favs. Thanks for the reminder of her. :) I might just have to rent that.
DeleteShort and to the very scary point! And why is it that those Daddy types always have guns?
ReplyDeleteIt seems many daddies are fiercely protective of their little girls. Hopefully, in most cases, those fears are unfounded.
DeleteI'm not a parent or even married yet, but come the day, if I had a daughter in that situation....eep.
ReplyDeleteEep indeed! This scenario truly terrifies me.
DeleteThree scares in 33 words - nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Troy!
Delete