I don't have an exact time frame for this one.  The dates are a little hazy, but I wanna say it was in the eighties? I  might be wrong. Anyway, if you were in Sedalia around that time,  you remember the Consumer's grocery store. I have fuzzy memories of it being in the strip mall East Woods is in now, and it being in the building JC Penney is in today.

My parents would shop there, as I'm sure yours did. Well, this particular day, I was being a Righteous Little Brat.  My mom was trying to keep me in line, but I was having none of it.  I wasn't in the cart, but I was supposed to stay close (Mom didn't want me to get into trouble, and was a little paranoid after the whole Adam Walsh thing).  Well, I managed to sneak away from her somehow.  Not sure how I did that, since Mom was pretty eagle-eyed, but I did.

I was off and running, having my own little adventures.  I was looking at the crossword puzzle books, looking at those little sticker books you used to collect, poking fruit in the produce aisle, generally being a somewhat tame little terror.  I was having a blast - no adult to tell me what to do!  Then, it came over the loudspeaker, clear as day:

"Chrissy Cramer, if you do not meet your mother at the customer service desk in sixty seconds, you will face serious consequences."

OH NO.  They Let Her Use The Loudspeaker.  I guess I was hoping I could sneak back to her before she made it to the checkout? I don't know what I was thinking, but I guess I thought I was too smart to get in trouble.  But oh man, I was in capital T Trouble. I made a break for it, trying to get to the front of the store to meet her in hopes if I beat the time limit I somehow wouldn't get in trouble.  But really, I knew it was coming.

And yes, it came.  My mom was shooting daggers at me as I ran up to her.  The pointing finger came out.  "Rebehka Christine Cramer, you are in so much trouble. You just wait til we get home.  You pull that stunt again and I will smack the taste out of your mouth and knock you into next week, you hear me? When you wake up, your clothes will be out of style! Do you understand me, missy?!" 

Yes, Mom.

The ride home was quiet. Life was over.  It had been a good run, but now my demise was imminent. What would it be? Paddled with the big wooden spoon? Grounded from my bike for a week? Smacked with the leather belt? Or worse...would she make me wait til Dad got home? That was the worst, waiting hours for your punishment, dreading every second until Dad came home after a long day working, just to find out I'd been bad.  What a disappointment I must be.

Well, it wasn't pleasant, but not as bad as I thought it would be. She brought in the groceries, sat down at the table, and beckoned me to her.  I dragged my feet, but I went. She looked me in the eyes and told me that she was very worried that something bad had happened to me, and that I'd scared her.  I said I was sorry.  She gave me a swat on the behind and told me I should be.

That's it? I can't believe I lucked out! Just one swat on the butt and it was over.  She told me to go outside and play.  I sat in the sandbox and thought about what I'd done. Was it really worth it, making my mom feel bad just so I could run around a little?  No. I'd been bad, and I knew it.  So, I played a little and generally felt like a jerk.  But the real punishment came later that night... Popeye's Canned Spinach.

ICK.

What kind of stuff got you in trouble as a kid? What kind of punishment would you get? Let me know what it was like for you as a kid!

Spinachly yours,
Behka

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