From a 10 to a 7

As much as we love Christmas, there are those elements in everyone’s life that may take the perfection of the day from a 10 down to a 7.  In the case of most people, it’s usually having to spend time with a particular relative who makes us uncomfortable, or with whom we’d never settled an old grievance that looms over our heads whenever we’re in the same social setting.

B’Man and I were headed to spend Christmas dinner with his mother, brother, daughters, my parents, and some family friends. In the mix was a particular person who’s presence is a source of tension for the both of us. I was just getting over a virus that had gotten so bad it had landed me at the emergency room to be fed the fluids intravenously that I couldn’t keep down orally. I was clearly on the mend on Christmas day, and couldn’t use the excuse that I was just too sick. I was expected to make the yearly traditional appearance. B’Man could see that the very thought of enduring this evening with this particular person was starting to unnerve me. I had asked his permission to stay home, and was met with a definite “no”. I can’ t say that I remained in a foul mood all day as a result, but the prospect of having to spend 3 hours in a tension filled room had caused my Christmas to lose a few points on the perfection scale.

B’Man and I had a lovely Christmas day, exchanging gifts, eating a large breakfast, watching football games, and enjoying each others company. But when 3:00 rolled around and it was time to go, I was obviously sinking in a funk that made it clear that his forcing me to go was only going to make the situation more uncomfortable for him. And the more he attempted to cheer me up, the more I sulked.

As I sat at the computer after I had gotten ready, B’Man came in holding the leather paddle. “Get off the computer and come over here,” he demanded as he sat on the couch.

For a moment I was confused until it dawned on me where he was headed and why. My only chance out of this was to pretend I didn’t understand and that he was being unreasonable and irrational.

I looked at him and frowned. “What is this all about?” I asked innocently.

His eyebrows perked up. “After all this time, you think you’d know better than to question me when I tell you to do something.”

“No!” I exclaimed. I jumped out of the computer chair and stood before him but far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to grab me. the calm on his face was infuriating. “You need to tell me what this is about," I said firmly.

“I have every intention of telling you once you’re in place over my knee.”

“Forget it! That’s not how this works!”

His eyes narrowed as his icy stare changed the very temperature of the room. “You’re going to tell ME how this works?”

I pointed a accusatory finger at him the way Charlton Heston’s Moses pointed angrily at the idol worshipping Jews. “This isn’t fair! You can’t do this!”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this, Sugar. Drop you pants and get over here, now.” He said calmly. “You’ve got five seconds.”

I was defeated. I had no argument, had no alternatives. Angrily, I unbuttoned my Levis and and pushed them down my thighs and flopped over his lap.

I lay there for a few seconds while he leaned over to get a good look at my face. Usually at this point my face has clear traces of fear, but this time I’m just pissed.

“I just want to get a few things straight,” He said as he starts to peel my panties down.

“We can’t have this discussion with me standing up?”

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day on this. You’re not listening.”

“I have been listening”

“No you haven’t, but you’re going to listen now.”

I sighed and tried to make myself comfortable.

“We’re going to spend time with family and friends, and we’re not going to allow one person to ruin this evening for us.”

I held my chin in the palms of my hands and stared sullenly at the ceiling. “It’s easier not to go,” I mumbled.

“You just don’t get it,” he said, and started to slap my behind fairly hard with the paddle. I wiggled and yelped a couple of times, but as spankings go, it wasn’t one of the worst. Its function was to get my attention and make me see that I had been willing to allow someone who I only saw once or twice a year to dictate my mood, and in the grand scheme of things, this person was certainly not worth my time and energy other than my prayers.

When the spanking was over, my eyes weren’t even moist. It didn’t really hurt anything other than my pride, and make me feel a little bit ashamed that I had needed to be reminded of what’s really important. I was, however sore enough to appreciate the car’s leather seats that had been sitting in single digit temperatures all day.

Christmas dinner with the family was much nicer than I anticipated. The person in question was not the bitch I was expecting, and a good time was had by all.  By the time we had arrived home, I had almost forgotten why I didn't want to go in the first place. 

So, in the end, the only person responsible for making my Christmas a 7 instead of a 10 was... myself.

Trust Me

To admit that stress relief spankings are effective is probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in ttwd. Punishment spankings for something I did wrong is one thing, but to submit to a comparable level of pain for something that is above and beyond my control, like stress or anxiety was viewed by me as a little barbaric, unfair, and crossed that fine line between submission and masochism.  Ever since the article on whipping therapy started circulating around in the last few months, I tried to keep an open mind, but in talking with so many other women about the concept of stress relief and hearing how they ask for it and benefit from it, I could only shake my head in disbelief as I tried to understand the phenomenon behind the practice.

B'Man initiated several stress relievers in the past few months due to some chemical imbalances that kept me off kilter, and I reluctantly submitted. The very first time my thinking was, okay, lets get this over with. when it doesn't work, I can tell him it's a waste of time, and we'll never have to do this again.

Well, much to my chagrin... it was helpful. My head was a little clearer, my endorphins a bit stronger, my energy a bit heightened...

This past week I was in emotional trouble. I had not been out of the house since Sunday, and here it was Friday. The bowels of hormone hell had opened up and swallowed me whole, and as I sank into the abyss, I grabbed on to B'Man's ankle and dragged him under with me. I had run out of Vitamin D, a supplement that had kept my chin above the murky waters for several weeks. I felt myself drowning. Menopausal symptoms had hit a new level of discomfort, a level that I had never imagined. The body aches were more severe, the fatigue more acute and the mood swings more intense. I knew this was temporary, but it seemed interminable.

On Monday, I instant messaged B'Man and announced that he could handle it any way he wanted, but I had absolutely no intention of leaving the house under any circumstances. The cold was more than I could bear, and my nerves were dangerously on the edge of reason. While the outcome of the war was in question, I was clearly losing the battle. I no longer had the will to fight for my sanity as vigorously as I had been. All the weapons in my arsenal,... the supplements, cardio, weight training, protein shakes, journaling, and full spectrum lighting were all being out-gunned by the menopausal monster.

And I could barely get out of bed.

B'Man had tried giving me a stress relief spanking on Thursday morning, and as I lay across his lap taking the leather paddle, I could feel that this was not making a dent in my troubled psyche. I had gotten to the point where I was beyond this type of help, and for the first time in months, I began to worry about my emotional stability and feared that I was on my own.

He walked into the den on Friday morning as I sat at the computer, mindlessly surfing through nothing of any significance. "let's try this again," he said as he waved the paddle at me. For a moment I considered arguing with him, but he seemed determined and I was too weak physically and emotionally to put up a fight.

He placed a pillow on the arm of the couch in the den, and waited patiently for me to move. I rose to my feet and folded myself over the pillow as he moved my robe out of the way. The paddle came down softly at first as I heard him warn me "This is going to get a little intense, Baby."  Then he began a hard and fast rhythm as I sobbed into the pillow at my head.

And then it happened. The paddling stopped, and I heard something I never thought I'd hear. B'Man was unbuckling his belt and pulling it out of the loops of his pants. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." I tried to lift myself up, but I felt him put his hand on my shoulder blade and push me back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him kneel beside me. "I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Trust you? Do you know what you're doing?

I nodded my head, closed my eyes and buried my face in the pillow. My worst spanking nightmare was coming true. I had tasted the belt only once before, and had vowed never to be in the place where it would rear it's ugly head again.  Now I was being asked to trust the man that held it in his hand.

If I can't trust him, who can I trust?  He'd never been one for gratuitously inflicting pain. He's dedicated himself to being my protector and my provider. There was clearly nothing he wouldn't do for me, he had proven that again and again.

So I didn't fight it. I lay as still as possible (which wasn't very still at all, but the best I could do) and submitted to probably the second most painful spanking I had ever had. When he was done, he enveloped me in his arms and waited patiently until I stopped hyperventilating.

The day went by with less anxiety.  I felt as though I could breathe, where before I was gasping desperately for every breath.   We've been spending the weekend exercising, attending holiday parties, eating out and basically making up for all time I had lost with my face buried in my hands.  I feel freed and back in control.  I also feel a bit more confused about the connection between this type of pain and the release of neurotransmitters in the brain.  I know I will never be able to bring myself to ask for this type of therapy, something that I admire my friends for being able to do when they need it... but I feel very blessed that I have someone looking out for me that knows when and how to use it effectively.

Trust you?  Yes.  I trust you to the depths of my very soul.

Just a Little Peevish?

I’ve been bragging to my friends of late that I have been virtually unspankable. Okay, I confess, that's not entirely true.  Spankable behavior has been mainly due to thoughtlessness, and my unwillingness to consider his feelings in my actions and decisions. When B’Man needs me to take care of a particular task during the day or asks that I refrain from a certain behavior that’s has the potential to drive him to drink, The least I can do is take it seriously and put some real effort into it.

Sometimes I fail miserably, and B’Man can immediately tell if it was through a willful disobedience and laziness, or if it was one of my attention deficit oversights. For the latter, he will usually smile and afford me grace and mercy. But there will be those times when I will become irritated by the reminder.

Case in point:  I have been sufficiently warned that I am to keep the hall closet door closed. The hall is narrow, B’Man’s shoulders are broad, and it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable for him. About a dozen trips bent over the kitchen counter and the sting from a wooden spoon have forged a habit of staying mindful of that door. Rarely do I hear the squeak of the closet door hinges from another room, the signal that I have been negligent. On those rare occasions, I can react in one of two ways. Usually, I’ll drop what I’m doing, run into the hall, my mouth agape, and my hands on my face like that picture of Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. I might giggle nervously, profusely apologize, and rack my brain as to when I opened the damned thing in the first place. He’ll watch me, assess my body language, check the way I nervously bite my lip, note the genuine surprise in my eyes, and hear the confusion in my voice. I will see in him the signs of a softened heart and a merciful reprieve. He’ll drop his head and his shoulders will bounce up and down as he chuckles to himself. “That’s okay, Babe. Try and pay attention to that, okay?” he’ll say. I’ll kiss him appreciatively, and we’ll move on.

But there will be other times. I’ll hear the squeak of the closet door hinges, and I’ll immediately feel irritated. Irritated at myself for forgetting, and irritated B’Man for bringing it up. Why can’t he just close the damned thing himself and lay off me? He’ll wait a moment for my apologetic, submissive reaction to the offending sound, and when I don’t show up, he’ll come looking for me. He may find me in the kitchen, my body language telling quite a different story. I’ll be standing erect, defiant. My eyes will shoot daggers at him, insolence dripping from my words. I’ll say something really stupid, like, “get over yourself.”

B’Man doesn’t say a word. He reaches for the crock on the counter, and grabs the biggest, heaviest wooden spoon in the arsenal. Suddenly, I realize what I’ve just done, and I can feel the muscles in my face relaxing, moving from an expression of anger to one of sincere remorse. He gently touches my shoulder, turns me around, and I bend over with almost no effort at all on his part. He doesn’t have to tell me what to do… I know the drill. My thumbs will slip into my waist band, and my pants and panties will slide to my thighs. The sting of the wooden spoon to my sit spots is especially painful, I suspect because of the extra infraction of my smart mouth. I might get five or six hard swats from this, and the burn, coupled with my contrition will cause my tear ducts to shoot like tiny water pistols. When he’s done, he’ll drop the spoon on the counter next to me. No more words have to be said.

B’Man’s pet peeves are all pretty much handled the same way.  Keep, the kitchen cabinets closed, keep the remotes in their respective rooms, close out the browser on the computer…

And now there’s a new one.

Well it’s not really new, it’s one of those things B’Man’s been nagging me about for years, and I never really paid that close attention. Now with the advent of the wooden spoon, I’ll probably be more mindful of this particular irritation that I’ve been ignoring for years.

This is a picture of our kitchen. As you can see, at the end of the counter on the right, there is a recycle bin. Now don’t ask me why I keep doing this… I honestly don’t know. But whenever I empty a bottle or a can or a jar, instead of dropping it into the recycle bin, I’ll leave it on the counter. And there it will sit for hours until I clean the kitchen. This drives B’Man absolutely out of his mind. He’s tried to keep a sense of humor about it. He’s teased me, begged me, and made empty threats. He’s done. It is now officially a spankable offense. In the past month there have been at least seven or eight wooden spoon incidents concerning this issue, and I’m unnerved at how often I lose sight of that directive. Apparently it's unnerving him too, because he's not giving me those acts of mercy, regardless of my attitude.

Just a few days ago as I sat in the easy chair on the right side of the picture with my laptop on my knees.  I was chatting in instant messenger with Kady about this very subject, and explaining how I’ve got some kind of mental block in this area. When she asked how the counter looked now, I assured her that I was in the clear, and that I had just finished polishing the marble to a perfect shine. At that moment, B’Man walked in the door, dropped his briefcase, kissed me hello, and shifted his eyes over to the shiny counter where there sat… the lone paper towel that I used to buff the marble with. It never made it into the recycle bin.

*Sigh*  This is going to be a long winter.

Living with a Spanko

This particular picture reminds me of B'Man and myself.  Me with the surprised, pained, but slightly aroused look on my face, and him with the perpetual grin.  This is what we look like when he's in his playful mood and I'm in my "Hey, take it easy," mode.

B'Man's obsession with my rear end has caused his behavior to blossom into constant grabs, pats and swats on public streets, in the lobby of the theater, in the grocery store... I'm not going to say that I don't love it. I do. We started exploring the concept of spanking because of my sexual sensitivity in that area in the first place. But now my crazy lunatic spanko of a husband has taken it to an HNL ( a hole nutha level).

Living with a spanko is a life dedicated to dodging bullets. B'Man is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to hone his spanking craft, and there's a certain sinister glee in his walk that tends to unnerve a woman committed to protecting her butt from pain. Sometimes I think my man has lost his mind.

There's a long hallway between our door and the lobby of our building, and I like to stand there in the morning as I watch him walk away toward the exit. Too often he will turn around and walk backwards and exclaim loudly enough for someone to hear through their doors, as well as any undetected persons in the lobby, that I am to behave myself or he will come home and "wax that ass." This is his favorite euphemism for spanking, and his favorite way of watching my face twist in mortification. The fact that he has an obsession with my butt is not a secret to the outside world anymore, and he's coming out of the closet at the most interesting times.

In Jamaica, we were in the local marketplace where B'Man picked up a spatula. Nothing hand made or interesting, just a regular metal and plastic spatula made in china. The merchant, knowing that we were tourists at the local resort, was confused by his interest. "Do you plan on cooking while you're in Jamaica?" she asked him.

B'Man replied as he slapped it hard against the palm of his hand, "Yeah. I plan on frying my wife's bacon." 

The merchant tilted her head, glanced at me and smiled knowingly.  I could only roll my eyes while B'Man laughed and jabbed me with his elbow.

We were in Best Buy recently looking to purchase a new MP3 player, when B'Man noticed a sales associate playing with a plastic paddle ball with the Kodak emblem. He announced that he used to be great at that game, and asked her if he could try it. Well, it had been several years since he played with one, and he couldn't seem to nail it even once, and I laughed and teased him about his pathetically spastic attempts to hit that little rubber ball with the paddle until he gave up. it was obviously a cheap promotional toy left behind by a Kodak sales rep, so B'Man asked if he could have it.

"You plan on getting good at that again?" I asked.

"Nah. I plan on using it to wax that ass!" he said whispering loud enough that it seemed that anyone within a 5 foot radius could hear as he slapped the paddle against his hand.

Aside from the obvious public displays of affection for my backside, he is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to put me over his knee. Several times in the last few months I have made a few off the cuff remarks about personal goals that I want to accomplish. One of them was my desire to cut down, and eventually cut sugar out of my diet completely. The first time I mentioned it, B'Man was getting dressed and coincidentally reaching for his belt. He doubled it in his hand and brought it down hard on the bed inches from where I sat. Then he sported that boyish grin of his and said, "I'd be happy to help you with that endeavor, Baby. Just say the word."

Flashbacks of his "help" in my quest to quit smoking caused a physical tremor, and I graciously declined his offer.

"Hey, I can make it so every time you see a candy bar you get the urge to stand up."

"Yeah, I get the basic idea, thank you anyway."

"I'm here for you, Baby," he said, pounding his chest proudly with his fist. "That's my job."

Now I've never been one for maintenance. Many of my friends understand, appreciate and encourage the practice... Frankly it just makes me nervous. While admittedly it may or may not help with stress, it can be as uncomfortable and painful as a punishment, and I'd just as soon avoid it if I can.  B'Man likes the idea of maintenance, and while we thankfully have not set a schedule for it, he manages to sneak one in every so often... I suspect more for his benefit than mine. Out of the blue, for seemingly no reason at all he'll say "You haven't had a good spanking in a while. Go bring me the paddle."

Of course I have to argue about it. "WHY! I haven't done anything!"

"I know, Baby, and we're going to keep it that way."

"No way, Uh-Uh! forget it! This maintenance thing is Bullshit!" I snap as I point at him accusingly.

This is where he'll smile, lean into me and say in a low, threatening voice, "You have 'til the count of three.  One... two..."

The fact that I argue turns it into a punishment.  I am tricked.  Hoisted by my own petard.

30 years form now, B'Man and I will likely be together in some retirement home, wheelchair and walker bound... me losing track of my glasses and teeth, and rolling my eyes at him when he expresses his irritation at my forgetfulness and irresponsibility.  No doubt he will flag down a CNA or an orderly and tip him a few bucks to go outside and cut him a switch so that he can "wax that ass."

Old Habits

As soon as I think I've got it all figured out, I turn around and do something stupid.

I have annoying character flaw, and it's something I've been in the habit of doing since I was a kid. Subconsciously I've always been under the impression that whatever the problem, whatever the challenge or concern, if you ignore it long enough, it will eventually go away. Okay, I've gotten more responsible as I've matured, and these situations have come up less and less in my life, but they do still pop up when I'm in my run-away-and-hide moods.

Here was not a situation where I should have been overwhelmed with indecision or fear. This was just one of those days where I simply did not want to deal my own discomfort, irritation and inconvenience.

My arthritis medication had begun to fail me and my doctor gave me a trial of something stronger to test for a week. As I adjusted to the new chemical in my body, I dealt with some lethargy and muscle weakness and cut 3 days out of my exercise routine. At the end of the trial I was to call my doctor to let him know that he could call in the prescription. Unfortunately I couldn't reach him over the weekend (I foolishly forgot to call on Friday), and I suffered through two days of the onset of pain, as well as a slightly depression and moodiness, partly from withdrawal, and partly hormonal.

B'Man had watched me spiral downward this weekend, and had mercifully left me alone to work out the imbalance going on in my body and mind... and then finally had enough. He sat down on the bed Monday morning and gently explained that I needed to move my body, that I had been hanging out in bed way too much, and I needed to get some cardio under my belt. Of course I knew he was right. The longer I hung out in bed, the worse I became. I smiled and agreed with him until he uttered that word that I dread so much.

"Task," he said.

"Task?"

"Task. Take a couple of over the counter pain meds, take your vitamins, have a good breakfast, and get to the gym. You don't have to do your full routine. Even if it's just for a lousy 15 minutes, you need to get out of this house, move your muscles and get your heart pumping. If there's some reason you can't or won't make it to the gym, I want you to contact me and let me know."

I agreed, kissed him, and saw him off to work.

Well, as you can imagine, I didn't make it. I just didn't have the energy of the inclination. And this is where I stumbled in my rationale. I knew that if I called him and told him I wouldn't make it, he was going to encourage me to go, and even insist. I know him. He wanted me to contact him so that he'd have the opportunity to give me a pep talk and explain that he is not giving me a choice. If I just ignore the fact that I needed to communicate with him, he would be forced to drop the subject and try again at a later date.

I spent an hour or so on the computer late that afternoon checking up on my favorite blogs, and surfing around a bit when the Windows IM box opened up. He had seen that I had signed on, and wanted to check in. We chatted for a few minutes, he asked how I was.

I admitted I still hadn't moved. It was a good thing we were on Instant Messenger, I wouldn’t have been able to look him in the eye.

"Did you at least take your vitamins?"

"No."

"Why don't you go do that."

I took my vitamins, informed him that the deed had been done, quickly extracated myself from the conversation and changed my messenger availability to "appear offline."  After all... if I ignore it, it will go away.

That evening when he came home, we had a comfortable evening together. Everything seemed fine. He didn't bring up the fact that I had disobeyed him about my workout and contacting him, and I certainly had no intention of bringing it up. But he did bring up something else I had dropped the ball on.

"Did you call the doctor?"

"Yes," I said immediately without hesitation. "I left a message with his secretary. He's going to call me back." I lied. There's no need to completely bury myself. I can take care of that little detail on Tuesday. He didn't have to know.

Tuesday morning as I lay in the bed, I heard him call me from the living room just before he was about to leave. When I walked in he asked me to sit on the coffee table and face him. I cinched my robe around my collar, and sat nervously biting my lower lip. I recognized the signs, I knew what was coming.

"I know you're having a hard time. That doesn't escape me. But I told you to communicate with me if you weren't going to make it to the gym, and you decided not to. You purposely avoided me, and if I hadn't contacted you, we wouldn't have spoken at all."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. Of course he was right, and I had actually thought that I had gotten away with it. I thought he was going to let it slide. After all, I was so pathetic. I felt myself begin to form my puppydog face.

"You can't avoid me whenever you feel like it. It's my job to take care of you, and I can't do that if you won't connect with me when I tell you to."

A tear spilled onto my cheek. Dammit! I hate it when that happens. I wanted to appear strong, stoic, unmoved.

"Let's take care of this right now," he said.

With that he walked around to the kitchen, and I watched as he picked a heavy wooden spoon from the crock on the counter. He came back, picked up a throw pillow and placed it on the arm of the couch and instructed me to place myself over it.  He handed me another pillow for my face and I draped myself across the arm of the couch and waited while he moved my robe out of the way. I felt the sting of the spoon on my sit spot as I fought hard to remain as still and quiet as possible. The smacks were loud and sharp, and I felt myself beginning to breathe hard as I tried to control my cries, but the pain was too much. My sobs came pouring out of me and into the pillow. Those wooden spoons up to this point had been reserved for those little annoying pet peeve swats here and there, but now they were part of the punishment arsenal, and they created a new level of pain that I hadn't expected. It felt as though it went on forever, while in reality it was only about a minute.

When he let me up he wrapped his arms around me and I cried quietly into his clean shirt. "You cannot ignore me," he said. "When I tell you you have to communicate, I need to hear from you. We have to keep in touch about your condition. No more hiding. Understood?"

Okay, I get it.  If I had contacted him I could have made my argument, held my ground and convinced him that I needed more rest. He's not an unreasonable man. But I didn't even give him the chance to let him hear me and discuss it with me. I took that away from him.

I wiped my face and walked him to the door. Before he left, he turned to me and said "Oh, and make sure you talk to your doctor today. Don't lie about it like you did last night."

My mouth flew open. I was about to yell, "I DIDN"T LIE!" but suddenly thought better of it when I saw his face give me the warning look.

How does he know these things?

Rambling Writer's Block

B'Man recently remarked that I hadn't posted in quite a while. I could only shrug and reply, I have nothing to post about."

He generously offered to help me out. "You go bring me my belt, and I'll be glad to give you some inspiration," he smiled.

I thanked him for his very kind offer, but declined.

Having nothing to post about is a mixed blessing. On the one hand it puts an indefinite hold on this strange hobby of blogging that I've become so attached to, leaving me to search for other outlets for my creativity... and on the other hand, my lack of subject matter proves that I am reaching that pinnacle in my relationship that I have been looking forward to since we started dd a year ago.

So, triumphantly I sit in front of a blank computer screen with a severe case of writer's block 15 days after my last post, reflecting over the events of the last 3 weeks. There's a certain amount of pride in knowing that I've managed to avoid punishment for that long. I've kept our home in a certain degree of order, the remotes remain in their rightful place, the closet doors and cabinets are no longer an obstical course,  and I'm completing important tasks in a timely manner.

And here I sit, the very picture of perfection with a grin on my face and nothing to write about. Okay... not quite perfect. A couple of times the wooden spoon has found it's way out of the crock on the counter for the purpose of what B'Man likes to call "a pet peeve stinger." And every once in a while the warnings come hurling at me sometimes so fast that I can hear them whistle like bullets as they blow by my ear. "You do that again you'll find yourself across my knee". What were those warnings about? Who knows? They come and go so quickly that they've become background noise, a part of the sound track of my life along with music from the seventies and the sound of the L train in the distance. I subconsciously take note of the infraction, resolve to not repeat it, and move on with my life.

Yesterday, B'Man picked me up right after work so that we could go to an optometrist and pick out a pair of frames for my new glasses. I wasn't in the best of moods, as I had been struggling with headaches from poor eyesight and chronic dry eye. We parked and went in and I tried on frames and we spoke to the salesman about our insurance and discounts for about 30 minutes. When we came out, we found a parking ticket sitting on the windshield. This only made me feel worse. Not only did I feel like a burden because we would have to drop a few hundred dollars on my new glasses, but the excursion to find them was going to cost another $50.00. I wanted to burst into tears. B'Man adamantly shook his head when he understood my misplaced guilt. "Baby, this is in no way your fault. This is all mine. I'm the one who decided not to put the quarter in the meter. I easily could have. A quarter! I lose that much in the cushions of the couch, and I was too cheap to pay for the parking space thinking I could get away with it." Then he frowned and cocked his head to the side as though a thought just occurred to him. "Hey, maybe I should spank you so I learn to never do that again!"

Sometimes I worry about that man.

Along with my seemingly perfect conduct, the truth also is that B'Man has been letting me off the hook more readily lately. There's a compassionate understanding that he's developed over these past few months when I tend to drag him down with me into hormone hell. A few times recently I've snapped and snarled and bared my teeth in response to what I perceived as an insensitive remark or question, only to be met with a gentle touch on my back and a comforting rub between my shoulder blades.

Sitting in front of a blank screen with writer's block has also given me time to reflect on our most important accomplishment in the last year. As a new blogger, Rebekah, has just revealed her husband's intentions to help her stop smoking, I can't help but let out a sigh of relief that this is, for the most part, all over for me. There is no doubt in my mind that my loving husband saved my life by forcing me to choose between the pain of withdrawal and the pain of severe spankings. My only contribution to the process was that I eventually chose wisely. In discussing the plight of my fellow bloggers going through the same struggle, B'Man revealed to me that he was prepared to "go the distance" had I broken down and had that one last cigarette that I was constantly on the verge of seeking. When I asked him what he meant by that he replied, "spanking isn't enough for something this serious. I'd have to whip you."

I think my jaw unhinged as I had to pick it up off the floor. I didn't have to ask if he was serious. There was no humor behind those eyes. I knew something like that wouldn't be easy for him. My spankings have ranged from slightly stingy to horrendously painful, but they were always just spankings. A whipping is something I simply can't wrap my mind around, but I realized that he saw this issue as a matter of life or death. Mine. I've always considered this an open issue in that I was still unsure about my ability to forego the opportunity to smoke in a weak moment. After that conversation, there is now no more doubt in my mind. The issue is now forever closed. I am a non smoker, and there's no way I could have done it without him.

My marriage floats inside a comfort zone where this thing we do is systematically dissolving the arguments, frustration, anger, nagging, yelling, and all the other crap that created resentment. I find myself relaxed and content. I'm thinking maybe I can become one of those wise women in the community that rarely get punished, and always has a thought provoking essay to impart (like Sara maybe?).

Or maybe I'll do something stupid and thoughtless and get my butt whooped tomorrow.

Only time will tell.

Tuesday Chat

Tuesday was gray and gloomy, and I woke with a cloud directly over my head. I've put a lot of time and energy into combating the seasonal affective disorder blues. Friends have given me excellent advice on supplements, full spectrum lighting, and other holistic remedies that I have invested in, and for the most part, I've found a satisfying relief from the emotional discomfort I'd endured year after year.  But every once in a while it seems like the weather can bypass the treatment, and spin me into a funk.

B'Man notice my fetal position and curled up with me in the bed after he had been fully dressed. He kissed me on the neck and whispered in my ear,"Do I have to break out the paddle?"

I managed to smile and shake my head adamantly as I assured him that I would be fine.

This evening he was expected across town to preach at a friend's ministry, and there were a few things that he wanted me to take care of by the end of the day. A little cleaning, a couple of errands that he needed me to run, a light dinner, and of course, the all important getting to the gym for cardio and endorphins. Certainly not a difficult day in hindsight, but...

I spent the day dragging. The procrastination monster was hot on my heels, and I had stumbled long enough for it to catch and devour me. I was sure I had put aside enough time to finish everything that he expected of me, and as time went on, I kept telling myself that if I left just a little later, I'd be able to squeeze everything in.

I stopped off at my mother's house for lunch, and wasted time there eating sweets and watching part of a Law and Order marathon while time slipped away.  By the time I left her place for the gym, it was too late. Not only had I finished nothing B'Man had asked me to do, but in my anger with myself, I became angry with him. My workout was whittled down to a worthless ten minutes, I picked up the ingredients for his dinner too late for him to eat before he had to leave, I had cleaned nothing. At the last minute, I raced around to three different stores searching for an item he had asked me to pick up for him. I was a mess, and I was pissed. I called him on the way home and snapped at him that his all important item was no where to be found, and he had sent me on an impossible wild goose chase... and it's his fault that I was running late.

Walking in the door, I was irritated, nervous and on edge. He was in the living room, rehearsing his sermon for the evening. I angrily tossed the groceries on the counter, and started tearing around the kitchen to prepare his dinner. He stopped rehearsing and put his hand up to tell me that it was okay, that it was too late to start dinner, and he had to leave soon. Luckily he had had a late lunch, so it wasn't a big deal.

When he finally left, I dove for the phone and dialed my friend Janet from Finding Our Way. She hadn't been around in a while, and I wanted to check on her, and just hear a friendly voice. It was a given that I was going to be spanked hard when B'Man got home that evening. My procrastination and attitude made sure of that, and I really needed someone to talk me down off a ledge. I tried to hide the fact that I was in trouble for the first few minutes of our conversation, but she heard the tremors in my voice and insisted I tell her what was wrong. When the story came out, she said something to the effect of, "Procrastinating again? Will you ever learn?"

Ah, the love of good friends!

She had me giggling for about an hour until she had to go, and she made me promise to update her on Wednesday morning... and once again, I was left alone with my guilt and anxiety.

An hour later I got on the computer and logged on to my Tuesday night chat with those women that B'Man calls, "my spanko girlfriends." The story of my infraction came out almost immediately, and as I was teased and jabbed throughout the conversation, I felt not so alone in my fretfulness. There's something about unloading on other women when there's an impending doom looming over your head that gives one a sense of peace... if only for a moment.

When B'Man pulled into the parking lot, visible from our window, I quickly told everyone goodbye, logged off, and waited.

I was immediately taken to the den where I was placed across his knee and spanked hard with the bath brush, my wails muffled by the throw pillow and my legs pinned down between his as he scolded me for not only my disobedience and procrastination, but more importantly my apparent disinterest in keeping the SAD at bay.

Sore and sniveling, I made my way back to my laptop in the living room, and logged back into the chat room. My girlfriends welcomed me back and pumped me for details with a measure of humor and sympathy.  I was given advice, admonishments, jokes, and cyber hugs as I adjusted my throbbing butt on the couch cushions and wiped my tears with the sleeve of my shirt. I sulked and laughed my way through the next 40 minutes or so until B'Man came out and kissed me on the cheek.

"You still hate me?" he asked.

"Nah," I said.

"Good.  Be sure to tell your spanko girlfriends I took it easy on you," he said as he went to the fridge for a bottle of water.

"They won't believe me," I said.  "They're already convinced you're a beast."

He smiled as he walked back into the den.  I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure he gets a kick out of having that reputation, especially since he considers himself a Teddy bear.

The Key Thing

The whole key thing had gotten out of hand. I couldn't tell you why I kept screwing up in this area, only that I felt out of control every time the keys were misplaced or lost or locked in the car. Here I am, an intelligent woman with an above average IQ, and something was causing me to feel and act like a blithering idiot when it came to those damned keys. The last time was so frustrating I felt sure that some unseen force had taken a choke hold on my brain, and I officially lacked the capacity to be responsible. As I told BabyMan about the lost keys, I cried. I was convinced that I could no longer be trusted... and I hated myself for my own stupidity.

When I told him over the phone that I had lost my keys, after so many mishaps over the last few weeks, the first thing he did was laugh. Normally, I'd be relieved to hear his laughter. B'Man sports a good sense of humor, and his laughter is usually relaxing to me, like wrapping myself in his arms and being held tight against his chest while I listen to his heart beating as I breathe in his cologne. His laughter is comfort food for me. But this time I could only bury my head in my hands and sob quietly.

I think at first he considered it not such a big deal. After all, they're just keys, certainly replaceable easily enough, and just a minor inconvenience. But he heard me agonizing over the incident, and realized that it was so much more. There was a sincere fear in my voice. A fear that I was losing confidence in myself, perhaps losing my mind a little. I felt stupid, untrustworthy, out of control, and angry at myself for being irresponsible and careless... again. When he finally made it clear that I was to be spanked for the lost keys, I was surprised. He had never punished me for something like this before. After all, it didn't fall under one of the four categories. I didn't lose the keys out of disrespect, disobedience, or dishonesty or dangerous behavior. It was simply an honest mistake.

We had plans to go out to dinner with friends that evening. He demanded that I "girl up," not only for the evening, but for a spanking. For a moment I felt worse. Not only am I a complete moron, but now I'm going to be a complete moron with a blistered behind. But I couldn't be angry with him. After all, he had every right to be frustrated with me.  Hell, I was frustrated with myself!

When he got home he wasted no time. But there was something in his demeanor that I hadn't expected. It was compassion. Don't get me wrong, B'Man is a very compassionate man, but I was expecting irritation behind those eyes. He took me to the bedroom and told me to bend over the bed as he lifted my skirt and pealed back my panties. My tears silently splashed on the beadspread.

"This isn't a punishment, Sugar," he said softly.

I frowned, confused. "Then what is it?"

"Well, first, I want you to feel better about this. I think this will help. You're awfully down on yourself, and I know you feel like you've let me down."

My guilt. He was attempting to alleviate my guilt. I shook my head indicating that I understood him.

"And second," he went on, "I think you need a reminder that you need to be more careful with your keys. You haven't been paying attention to them. You leave them around, you toss them anywhere and then can't find them when you need them."

He started spanking me hard with the leather paddle, and then he switched over to a hard plastic paddle he had procured a couple of weeks earlier. I tried to suppress the cries, but they built up in my chest like a shaken bottle of beer until they erupted in agonizing wails.

From now on you're going to keep your keys in one place at all times, do you understand?

"Yeeesssss"

"Where do you want to keep them?"

I shook my head. I couldn't think straight. I just wanted the pain to stop. I was having trouble staying still and I collapsed on the bed. He reached under me and lifted me back into place.

"You're going to hang them up on the hook behind the door from now on." WHAP! "Right?"

"Right!"

This went on for another couple of minutes and then he let me up and hugged me.

It's funny. I immediately felt better about having lost my keys, locking them in the car, leaving them in the trunk, having to replace them, the inconvenience, and the irresponsibility, and the carelessness... it was all over. Now my keys go on the hook behind the door, and with the exception of maybe a couple of days, I've been extra careful to have them there at all times. Every once in a while out of the blue he'll ask me "Sugar, where are your keys?"

"On the hook behind the door," I'll say with confidence, my head held high, and a bit of an attitude.

B'Man just smiles and winks at me.  "That's my girl."

Love Our Lurkers V

This is the 5th annual Love Our Lurkers day established by Bonnie of the famed My Bottom Smarts.  This is a day where we encourage those who have been silently lurking to come out of the shadows and make their presence known to the bloggers they read on a regular basis.  We'd all appreciate your participation, and hope that you'd be moved to introduce yourselves.  In light of this endeavor, I'd like to share one of my favorite videos that embodies the spirit of coming through the crowd to join the dance.  Enjoy, and leave a comment if you're so moved. 

This all happened in a train station in Belgium.  Wouldn't you love to have been there?



B'Man and I love our Lurkers.  Take a moment to join the dance and say hi.

SugarAnne

Antagonistic to Harmonious

Mason Cooley once said, "Antagonistic cooperation is the principle of all markets and many marriages."  I have been living in this bubble for several months since we started ttwd, understanding the benefits, and yet holding on to my own angst.  My cooperation was (and often still is) filed with a non-specific anxiety, until recently when I started to notice a change in myself.

It started to happen so subtly that I didn't even catch it at first. The habit crept into my marriage like a house guest who came for the weekend and decided to put down roots in the living room. I'm talking about my willingness to be corrected after dropping the ball on one of B'Man's spankable pet peeves. It happens quickly, cleanly, without words most of the time, and once it's over I return to my regularly scheduled programming after a word from my sponsor.

Perhaps you can relate if I describe it this way:

In the Movie The Sound of Music, Captain Von Trapp calls his children down to introduce them to Maria, the new Governess. They march in Military style, single file all the way down the stairs in perfect unison, but something is out of place. Brigitta, Played by Angela Cartwright, is conspicuously missing from the line, but comes in from another room with her nose in a book . Captain Von Trapp walks over to her, clears his throat, and she slowly lowers the book to find a mildly irritated father glaring at her. He holds his hand out and she sheepishly hands him the book, and without being asked to, turns around and slightly bends over while the Captain gives her a light swat with the book on her backside. There are no words, no arguments, no tears, no resentment, no anger, and Brigitta knows exactly what is expected of her.

This is what is happening with B'Man and myself. I noticed it last week when I was in the kitchen working on dinner, B'Man bellowed in his inimitable way that the remote was missing from the den... again. I remember grimacing for a moment as I scanned the living room with my eyes, spotted the wayward remote and raced over to retrieve it. I trotted to the den to find my captain with his hands on his hips and a glare in his eyes. I handed it to him and searched his eyes for some hint of a reprieve. There was none. I, like Brigitta, knew exactly what was expected of me, and without being prompted, turned around and bent over giving B'Man a clear target. I felt two stinging slaps to my behind with the long, flat, plastic remote, and waited until I heard him collapse on the couch and turn on the television.

It was only slightly painful, a tad embarrassing, and a bit humorous as I trotted back to the kitchen to finish peeling my eggplant.  Within seconds the incident is forgotten, put behind me, and I am laughing at some tone deaf contestent on Dont Forget the Words.  I'm beginning to fight ttwd less and less with everyday that goes by, and lately I've begun to even invoke a comfortable cooperation in the whole process. 

 

I guess the antagonism is being burned off to reveal a harmonious gold underneath.  Don't get me wrong, I've still got a bit of a disobedient fight in me, but I'm learning how to pick my battles.  And strangely enough, there seem to be fewer of them.

Bottle or Paddle Battle

He's been watching my condition deteriorate for the past couple of years. Even though I work out vigorously and lead a fairly normal and healthy lifestyle, he all too often notices those times when I am in pain, and he's not fooled by my attempts to try to hide it from him, or shrug it off as though it's nothing. I'll get up from a seated position and my face will contort in a painful wince, and for about 30 seconds, I'll begin to walk as though I were an 80-year-old woman with my back hunched over and my knees locked together until I can straighten up. These are the times when I have neglected to take my medication prescribed by my rheumatologist to alleviate pain and increase range of motion.

The most profound side affect of my medication is drowsiness, but if I take them before bed, I am relatively pain free for most of the following day. That's if I remember. I admit I have a habit of forgetting them, or procrastinating until it's too late (like at 4:00 am). BabyMan has done his best to remind me and encourage me to take my meds more seriously and diligently... to no avail. I am foolishly hopeless and hopelessly foolish as I never seem to put my medication high on my list of priorities.

This evening was the last straw. BabyMan had reached the end of his patience. We both knew the bottle was almost empty, and I had put off refilling my prescription as I had been down to my very last pill for a while. That little capsule has been bouncing around inside of that big red bottle like a bebe in a box car for days as I have been putting off my errand... not out of wilful disobedience, or a lack of desire to feel better, but simply out of forgetfulness, misplacing the bottle, and general inconvenience when I did remember. I had been substituting the pill with the over the counter Aleve for days, and it was obviously not doing it's job... because BabyMan was noticing the stiffness in my walk and the pain on my face.

So this evening we both sat in the den watching television, he sprawled out on the couch, and me at the computer. It had gotten dark and I was fighting to stay awake to watch the end of Law and Order. BabyMan notice me nodding in and out, and asked "Did you take your pill tonight?"

"Uh... no, not yet."

"Go take it now."

"Okay... when this is over."

"No. Go take it right now. You'll forget and crawl into bed when this is over."

I sighed and looked around the room as I tried to remember where I had left it, and indeed, when I even last had it.

"Do you even know where it is?"

"Um..." I was sleepy. We had eaten a couple hours earlier, and I wanted to lay down more than anything.

"Well?"

"I don't know where it is, but I think it's empty anyway." I knew there was one left in there, but I didn't want to go searching for it.

"You think?"

"Yeah, it's empty," I said with a more definite resolve.

"Go find the bottle."

"What for? It's empty." The lie was sounding more believable even to myself.

"Bring the bottle to me."

Damn! he wasn't going to let this go. I could tell another lie to cover my last lie by telling him that I threw it away... and for a split second I considered it just to get out of this. But I knew better. I rose from the computer chair, winced at the pain in my hips, and slowly dragged my feet out of the room to my bedroom dresser to look for the bottle. It wasn't there, and now I was irritated that he was sending me on a wild goose chase when all I wanted to do was sleep. I marched back in the den and sat back down defiantly. "Screw it, I can't find it, I'll find it tomorrow." I announced.

"You can't find the bottle... then go get the paddle," he said as he sat up and placed a pillow on the floor between his legs, a position I was all too familiar with.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

"The bottle or the paddle. What's it gonna be?"

I decided it sure as hell wasn't going to be the paddle. I stood up and went into the front room to look for the bottle. The kitchen, the living room, the dining room table... It was nowhere.

When I returned to the den, I whined like a tired 3-year-old. "I can't find it!"

"Then get the paddle," he said again. He was beginning to sound like a broken record.

No way! I went to the bathroom, and then to the bathroom in the master bedroom. It had to be here somewhere. Dammit, why can't I remember?

There was clearly no way out of this. I decided to simply get this over with as it was the only way I was ever going to get any sleep. I went to the bedroom and grabbed the paddle from the hook on the wall, went back to the den and roughly shoved it at him. Tears of exhaustion and humiliation gathered at the corners of my eyes as I knelt on the pillow between his feet. He lifted my chin with his finger and told me to lower my sweat pants.

"You need to take your medication more seriously," he said quietly. "You need to know where it is at all times and you need to take it consistently."

I suppressed the need to yawn and I nodded my head.

"You've been in pain way too often, and when I tell you to take your medication, you don't do it and lie to me about it."

"I don't lie," I lied.

"Really? Did you take it last night when I reminded you?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"You think so? Either you did or you didn't."

"I... I couldn't find it last night."

"So that was a lie."

I didn't answer. he guided me over his left knee and I grabbed the throw pillow and buried my face.

"We're going to refill that prescription tomorrow, and you're going to keep it in one place so that you can always find it. Understand?"

"Yes."

He started spanking me with the paddle, softly at first, and then it got harder as he continues to talk. "And when I tell you to take your pill, you're going to take it immediately, and not put it off until you're too tired and you forget."

My bottom was beginning to sting and I sobbed quietly as I fought to remain still.

"Now, where are you going to keep your bottle from now on?"

I lifted my face out of the pillow and shrugged my shoulders.

"Pick a place. Now." WHAP!

"Ow! Um... okay... the copper platter on the kitchen counter."

"Good place. I'll keep my meds there too, so we'll both remember. We'll support each other, okay?"

"Okay," I said as I put my face back in the pillow and cried some more as he finished off the spanking with some well placed strikes to my sit spot.

When he was done, he lifted me up, handed me the paddle, and I staggered off top the bedroom where I replaced it on the wall and collapsed on the bed falling asleep without undressing. 

I never could win these little battles of the wills.  But for some reason, I keep trying every once in a while.

Autumn Winds

It's happening.  The summer's gone, and the cold and the darkness are setting in... not overwhelmingly yet, but little by little I'm feeling my joy being siphoned out me as I awaken to a dark bedroom with a little bit of a chill in my bones. My emotions are just a little out of control as  BabyMan moves about going through his normal routine as though it's not happening. But it is happening. I feel myself becoming teary eyed and start to sink into what BabyMan calls the abyss. As a drop of morning's light begins to stream into the room while he dresses in front of his closet, he glances over at me and tilts his head as it dawns on him what's happening. He asks me if I'm alright, and upon hearing my pathetic affirmative mumble, decides that it's time for him to do something. He doesn't want this thing to get out of hand.

This is the first time he's seen the symptoms rise in me this year, and he can't... he won't allow me to retreat into my personal hell. He tells me to take the covers off, turn over and hug my pillow. I know what he's up to, and I can't argue. Since last December, he's known what to do in this situation, and even though it's uncomfortable, there's something cathartic about releasing my emotional discord through the physical pain. He comes in and pulls me out of my anguish by slapping my behind, first with the leather paddle, and then with a loopy Johnny that was gifted to us. The paddle I can take. I'm used to it. The sting pushes my emotional angst through my eyes in the form of hot steamy tears as I press my pillow against my body. Then he grabs the loopy and gently uses a soft wrist action to let it drop on me. It hurts more than I could ever imagine, and I begin to cry audibly. Softly at first, and then I begin to wail, screaming into the pillow and convulsing. My emotional and physical pain become one, and I release them into the atmosphere in a series of gut wrenching sobs as I try unsuccessfully to remain still.

When he's through, he holds me and reassures me that I will be fine, and tells me how much I'm loved as he wraps me in the cocoon of his arms until it's time for him to finish preparing for work.  Before he leaves, he sits down on the bed for his instructions to me.

The kitchen and living room are a mess as we had relaxed ourselves into a coma all weekend with the exception of church services on Sunday.  The sink overflowed with dishes, the marble counter cluttered with cooking utensils and dirty pans from a couple of elaborate meals I had prepared. We had shed our clothing and tossed them all over the couches, and the floor held several pair of our shoes and socks. Now the weekend was over and it was time to once again become grownups and live as though we were raised as civilized human beings.

"The front room's a mess, Babe," he said.

"Yeah," I mumble as I rubbed my stinging bottom with the palm of my hand. "Who's gonna clean it up?" I quip.

"Well, I don't know," he smiles. "but It needs to be clean when I get home. I'm sure you'll find someone to do it."

I nod my head.

"That's your task for today. That and... make sure you get to the gym."

We both knew that the endorphins from the cardio and weight training will enhance my energy and lift my mood for hours if not days. I promise I will as he kisses me and pulls the covers over my naked body so that I can drift off to sleep.

I awake about 30 minutes later, dress in my workout clothes, make a half-assed attempt at straightening the front room, and pack my gym bag with the necessities to spend an hour or so at the YMCA.

At 10:30 I receive a call from my mother who invites me to lunch. I had planned to go to the gym about a mile from her place anyway, so I say yes. I should have known better. It's not easy for me to have a full lunch with Mom and still get to the gym, and I was already dragging. I think I know deep down that I'm not going to make it... and I don't.  I spend the day wallowing in my own misery, allowing myself to be distracted, overeating, depressed, defiant in my laziness.  I'm more than willing to let the Seasonal Affective Disorder win, and I just don't care.

I arrive home about 5:45.  I had gotten a little bit accomplished in the front room, but it was still in a bit of disarray. I had managed to get to the market on the way home to buy the ingredients for dinner, and when I walk in BabyMan is standing in the middle of the leftover mess, arms folded, disappointed. The conversation is abrupt, curt. Stressful.

"Where have you been?" he demands.

"At Mom's."

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I called you about 30 minutes ago."

"I left it at Mom's place. I didn't realize it until I got to the store."

"Looks like you didn't get much done around here."

"I got a little done."  I look around at the mess.  "I tried."

He shrugs and sits down in the overstuffed chair. "Dinner?" he asks.

"Ready in about 15 minutes" I say, relieved that he's not pushing the issue.

"How was your workout?"

Damn! I immediately want to tell him that it went just fine, and let the subject drop there... but lying to him is something that had become more and more difficult for me to do since we started ttwd. Our relationship had changed to the point where lying simply was no longer an option. He always knows when I'm lying. I can't look him in the eye, I can't steady my voice. There is no choice here.

"I... didn't get to the gym."

"Why not?"

"I... lost track of time."

We stare at each other for a moment, lost in the uncomfortable quiet of the room. I move behind the kitchen counter and begin to make dinner.

We eat in silence while we watch old reruns of Sienfeld. I never know if he's going to be merciful and let me slide at this point. Sometimes he will, and sometimes...

"I want you to go to the bedroom and put your pajamas on and lie across the bed over pillows," he says as I clear the dishes from the table.

There is no argument.  I have no argument.  I walk into the bedroom and prepare. When he comes in, I am already in tears, terrified that he's going to reach again for the loopy johnny. When I looked back I am relieved that he had his belt in his hand. The belt that I've been frightened of since day one.  He steps in front of me and kneels down so that we are face to face. "You know how important it was that you get to the gym. You know that your workout is crucial to your emotional health. You decided to blow it off."

"No, I didn't decide... it just... happened." 

"Well we're going to make sure it doesn't just happen again. You will not disobey and ignore me with something this important.  Do you understand?"

I begin to cry loudly, my nose is running and the tears are starting to soak the bed. He moves behind me and pulls down my pajama bottoms. I heard the lecture continue as I felt the sting of the belt come down on my behind over and over again in the same spot. When I move my hand back to protect myself, I hear him sternly warn me... and I again reach for the pillow.  The pain is intense, I find myself biting down on my pllow to keep from squirming too much.  I yell out "Please, Please, "  over and over again, only to be ignored.

Suddenly the spanking  stops.  I'm swollen, hot, exhausted, angry at myself.  He's rubbing something soothing on my bottom, then bends down and kisses me on the offended area before he leaves me to return to the living room.

It's over. 

Tomorrow, I think I'll clean the house and go to the gym.

Riddle Me This, Batman...

If the Joker spanks Batgirl, should she take it seriously?

There are times when I just don't know if BabyMan is joking. He often displays a look on his face that has an ambiguously serious glare or a humorous gleam in his eye.  He likes it this way. It keeps me on my toes, and having acquired my Bachelors degree in BabyManology a few years ago, I can usually read his body language with some degree of accuracy... usually.

This past weekend we decided for the first time since our immersion into the wonderful world of domestic discipline, that we would entertain another couple who are a part of this community and enjoy the same lifestyle we do. We had been a bit reluctant in the past and also a tad paranoid since the Parker/Brinlee incident to open ourselves up to anyone, realizing that information can be easily passed from person to person purely unintentionally, but nevertheless, dangerously. We kept our profiles low from the eyes of those who's self righteous attitudes would cause them to lash out at us, and in the process remained hidden from the very people with whom we want to connect.

So recently we decided to open up to one couple who were passing through town on route to their home from a short vacation.

Now here is where the ambiguity comes in. The day before we are to meet this couple at a restaurant a few miles from our home, BabyMan decides that he is obliged to give me one of those Remember Your Place, Woman spankings. I had read about them in various blogs before. It's not necessarily a maintenance spanking, and certainly not a punishment. There was an air of eroticism in the application, and yet a bit of drama displaying a touch of grievance and irritation, but mostly... it's a warning.

Sunday evening I was on the computer in a quick chat with another blogger when BabyMan walked into the den carrying the Weapon of Ass Destruction. He placed it on the arm of the couch and sat down. I looked at the paddle, and then at his face as I searched for answers.

"Say goodbye to your friend and come over here," he demanded.

I blinked incredulously as I usually do when he does this. This is our routine. He expects to be able to demand that I place myself across his lap obediently without question or hesitation... and I... disobediently hesitate and ask lots of questions.

"What's this all about?" I asked.

He sighed, frustrated. "Why do you always have to question me?"

I sighed, just as frustrated. "What's the big secret? Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because you need practice being submissive."

"I do not. There's nothing wrong with the way I submit."

"...she said defiantly."  He grabbed the paddle and slapped it hard against the couch.  I jumped just enough to give away the fact that I was intimidated.  "let's go... NOW!"

He glared at me with a look in his eye that lingered somewhere between sober determination and humor. I turned back to the computer screen, told my friend that I was being summoned, and closed out the Yahoo Messenger. These are the times that make me a bit nervous. I pretty much have a 50/50 chance that this is going to be a lighthearted guilt free and pain free paddling for no particular reason other than he wants the closeness and connection. Those are nice. The other possibility is that he's pissed off about something that he's been bottling up and trying to avoid mentioning because he's convinced himself that it's not worth a confrontation... until it causes him to explode all over my backside.

I kneel next to him on the couch and venture to inquire one more time. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

He gently grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down across his lap. "Relax," he said. "I just want to get a few things straight."

"A few things like what?"

"We've got one of your chat girlfriends and her husband coming to visit tomorrow, and I think we should have an understanding."

I didn't like the sound of this. I tried to push myself back up, but he held me down pushing me firmly into the couch cushions while the other hand yanked down my panties. "Every once in a while you get a little too testosterony."

"Testoster... what? That's not even a word!"

"Testosterony. You act like you've got a little too much testosterone coursing through your veins, and you like to push the envelope.  Remember when you put on your new weight training gloves last week?  You strutted around here giving me attitude like you overdosed on steroids."  The paddle came down on my butt cheek making my legs buck. 

"Ow! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. And while I let you get away with that when it's just the two of us, you're not going to show off for your girlfriend."

This wasn't fair at all! I haven't done anything wrong... yet.

"You're not going to boss me around," WHAP! "You're going to watch your tone with me," WHAP! "and you're not going to disrespect me in any way, do you understand?" His voice was calm and rational while I was beginning to panic. The strikes of the paddle were getting harder, and began to sting my sit spot. I grabbed onto his ankle and squeezed hard with every strike of the paddle.

"You have a tendency to tell me to shut up," he went on.

"Okay, I do. But it's in a really respectful way!"

I could feel his body shake in suppressed laughter. "Yes, Baby, I know. You tell me to shut up very respectfully. But your not going to say it at all during this meeting. Understood?" WHAP!

"Yes! I understand!"

"Who's HoH?" WHAP!

"Ow!  You are!"

"And who's the submissive wife?" WHAP!

I gritted my teeth, held my tongue and moved my hand back to protect myself.  I can never seem to answer this question with any degree of ease and conviction.  He grabbed my wrist and jerked it out of the way.  "Who?" WHAP!

"All right, dammit, I am!"

"You're going to treat me as though I were your first thought... and your last thought."

"I always do!"

"Yes, of course you do, Baby, I just want to make sure that doesn't change" He brought the paddle down on me a few more times as I squeezed my eyes shut. "Now let me tell you what will happen if I'm unhappy with your behavior..."

Oh, God, here it comes.

"If I have to remind you just once not to cross the line, we will excuse ourselves, and I will march you into this room, shut the door and your friend will hear you get a spanking you won't soon forget.  Got it?"

"What?" I laughed nervously.  He's kidding... he's got to be kidding!

"Or better yet, maybe I'll just do it right in front of them."

I felt myself gasp,  This all had to be a huge joke, right? His demeanor was humorless, but his words were so bizarrely ridiculous, that I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter. But again... I couldn't be sure if he meant what he was saying. So I said those famous last words that so many dd wives spanning the generations have said to their husbands.  "YOU...WOULDN'T...DARE!"

"I absolutely would."

"You would not!"

"Oh no? You really want to try me?"

I felt the sting of that paddle in a consistent rhythm for a few minutes as I grabbed a throw pillow and screamed into it.

I went to bed that night shocked, confused, unsure of his resolve, sure of his lunacy, a little nervous, and a lot sore.

The visit with our new friends went very well, and I was the model of submissive perpetuity.  BabyMan tossed me only a raised eyebrow when at one point I took the lead and forcefully hijacked the plans for the evening.  But all in all, he was very proud of me.  But here it is four days later, and I still have no idea if he would have carried out his threat.  I don't think I'll ever know for sure if he would have the nerve to spank me in  front of others, because I'll never give him a reason to.  But as I work on my study of BabyManology for my Masters, I have come to realize that this particular mid term exam was no better than a C- because... I'll never really know the answer to that question... God willing.