This is the story of a mother's piano, familial expectations and the ability to stand tall while acknowledging one's culpability with fierce control.
To say I was a spirited child is an understatement. Abuela had shared stories of my two-and-a-half-year-old self that would surely sway most to avoid parenthood altogether and choose a four-legged friend instead! As well, it was no secret that my birth mother and I never saw eye to eye, and I challenged her at every turn and tested her patience daily. I was a handful but my father and Abuela adored me and I, them.
My dear nannies were attentive and probably exhausted struggling to keep me in the frilly dresses and hair bows my parents insisted upon. I usually had other plans! The tropical storms that hit Cuba always brought lots of rain which left mud puddles! Abuela used to tell me how after the rains, I could be found jumping up and down in a mud puddle, dirty and dripping from head to toe, joy upon my face. The dress I'd have on would be ruined with the bows in my hair usually falling out or in the puddle. My eternally angry mother would start screaming at the nannies who would hurry to gather the dirty, soaked child and return her clean and stifled in yet another itchy dress and hair bows.
Furious, I decided to make a public display of my dissatisfaction with my mother in the most creative way possible. My mother's piano was located in the living room which had a very shiny and cool marble floor. There, in the safety beneath the piano, I would poop in the corner and sneak away before anyone could see me. Horribly, I was found out as the culprit after pooping one time too many, on the now stained marble and there was hell to pay.
I remember quite a bit from my childhood but strangely, this is not one of those moments. Abuela always laughed when she recalled how ballistic my mother was at discovering I was the wrongdoer. She was so upset, screaming on and on at me as I quietly stood in front of her, with my poop under the piano as my nannies and Abuela looked on. Mother went on about how she was going to spank me and... Abuela always said this was her favourite part of the story when she recounted it.
"Abuela said that I looked up, staring defiantly at my mother, pulled down my underpants, then turned around and bent over for that spanking. Everyone stood there in shocked silence as the little girl took full accountability for her actions with no fear of reprimand."
It won't be a surprise to you that my Abuela shared that story on numerous occasions over the years. She thought it was amusing and amazing how someone so young could have had such an acceptance of accountability with no hesitation of punishment while controlling her fate.
In truth, I think she gave me way too much credit, but that sense of accountability has been carried throughout my life. I take the responsibility of helping others live their truth, seriously. One does not mess around with Spirit!
Is this story true? You bet your bottom it is and thankfully, I have never pulled my pants down for a spanking from that day forward! Lol!
Deborah Ledon is a spiritual advisor, energy worker, an award-winning entertainer, songwriter, teacher, and speaker. Her extraordinary journey has been filled with passion, faith, painful endings, madness, and forgiveness. This is her story of taking chances, breaking free of familial expectations—and those we set for ourselves—of breaking the mold and learning to take the high road, despite the monsters along the way. #thepositivetransformationcoach #intuitivehealer #positivetransformation #energyworker #lightworker #empath #intuitivecoach
Gal pal writer, music connoisseur, social media expert, and brilliant babe, Christine Bode edited this article while looking for things others cannot see. Read more on Christine here: Bodacious Copy