“Dum Spiro Spero”: While I Breathe, I Hope.

When I was around six years old, I loved rocks. What kid doesn’t? I had spent the afternoon walking around the driveway looking for cool ones. I had collected about 10 or so, brought them in the house, washed them, and I was sitting in the flooring organizing them.

Mother got home from work, babysitter left, and she walked by me and told me to take the rocks back outside. I jumped up gathered them and ran them to the little porch. In my mind, they needed to be put back where I had picked them up. So, I started throwing them. It was dark, I didn’t want to go outside of the little 45w porch light. Well, I threw one a little too hard and it hit glass. I managed to hit my mother’s drivers side rear window on her cavalier.

I remember my stomach dropping and the panic well up in me. My Mother heard the glass break and she was stomping on the stairs from her bedroom. My only thought was I needed to hide. I ran into the kitchen but couldn’t find a place I could fit. Our refrigerator was up against the long wall that is also the exterior wall. I wedged myself behind it.

On the old fridge, the coils were exposed. I remember them being pressed against me and I remember them burning me. I let it happen. I stay put and silently sobbed. I was so scared. She eventually found me. She asked me what happened. I told her I was putting the rocks outside like she told me to but I threw them.

Well, she grabbed me by my left arm and spanked me for what felt like forever. I remember going to be hurting all over that night. I had little coil burns and a pretty bruised back side. I got better at hiding.