| Humor Non-Fiction posted September 3, 2010 | Chapters: |
...3 4 -5- 6... 
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An amusing fact about myself, I learned at an early age.
A chapter in the book Rooted in Dixie
The Day Willpower Died
by BethShelby
I remember the day I learned my willpower has a limit. I think I was about five-years-old. It is good to learn these sorts of things early, so you won't be expecting too much later on.
My daddy managed a grocery store. I was his only child, and he loved having me run to greet him when he came home from work. In order to make sure I kept doing that, he began bringing a treat for me every day. As soon as my teeth came in, he realized at least one of them was a sweet tooth. After that, the treat was always a candy bar. In those days, a nickel candy bar was about as big as the kind you pay a dollar or more for now.
My mother made sure she taught me all about everything she thought her only little angel needed to know, including willpower. It made quite an impact on my five-year-old brain, so I decided to test mine without telling anyone what was going on. Each day when the candy bar arrived, I gave Daddy a big kiss to thank him, and off I went, presumably, to consume my treat in private. Only instead of eating it, I stashed it away under the pad on my doll bed.
Every few hours, I would sneak into my play area and uncover the bars to count them. The tally grew over the next couple of weeks. There were Hershey bars, Paydays, Almond Joys, Baby Ruths, and a host of other candies which no longer exist. My mouth watered and I drooled considerably, but I stubbornly resisted the urge to indulge, while growing prouder each day of my remarkable willpower.
Then suddenly, on the seventeenth day, my resistance failed. Maybe it was because the area beneath the pad was overflowing, or maybe it was because it was as far as I had learned to count. At any rate, I could stand it no longer. My mouth was salivating, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have just one. Besides, I needed to create more space to put them. Like an alcoholic off the wagon, one turned into two, and so on until I had consumed ten of those sweet chocolaty concoctions. By that time, I was violently ill and never wanted to see another candy bar ever.
The aversion to candy lasted several weeks, while the sweet tooth recovered. Mom and Dad decided sweet treats were off limits, and so began the era of peanuts, chips and cheese crackers.
I figured my amazing willpower record still stood, so I didn't bother testing it again until my teen years, when I started putting on a few extra pounds. It was then I found out what I had learned at six still applied. I could manage to diet about seventeen days, before all those good intentions went flying right out the window.
I Remember writing prompt entry
I remember the day I learned my willpower has a limit. I think I was about five-years-old. It is good to learn these sorts of things early, so you won't be expecting too much later on.
My daddy managed a grocery store. I was his only child, and he loved having me run to greet him when he came home from work. In order to make sure I kept doing that, he began bringing a treat for me every day. As soon as my teeth came in, he realized at least one of them was a sweet tooth. After that, the treat was always a candy bar. In those days, a nickel candy bar was about as big as the kind you pay a dollar or more for now.
My mother made sure she taught me all about everything she thought her only little angel needed to know, including willpower. It made quite an impact on my five-year-old brain, so I decided to test mine without telling anyone what was going on. Each day when the candy bar arrived, I gave Daddy a big kiss to thank him, and off I went, presumably, to consume my treat in private. Only instead of eating it, I stashed it away under the pad on my doll bed.
Every few hours, I would sneak into my play area and uncover the bars to count them. The tally grew over the next couple of weeks. There were Hershey bars, Paydays, Almond Joys, Baby Ruths, and a host of other candies which no longer exist. My mouth watered and I drooled considerably, but I stubbornly resisted the urge to indulge, while growing prouder each day of my remarkable willpower.
Then suddenly, on the seventeenth day, my resistance failed. Maybe it was because the area beneath the pad was overflowing, or maybe it was because it was as far as I had learned to count. At any rate, I could stand it no longer. My mouth was salivating, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have just one. Besides, I needed to create more space to put them. Like an alcoholic off the wagon, one turned into two, and so on until I had consumed ten of those sweet chocolaty concoctions. By that time, I was violently ill and never wanted to see another candy bar ever.
The aversion to candy lasted several weeks, while the sweet tooth recovered. Mom and Dad decided sweet treats were off limits, and so began the era of peanuts, chips and cheese crackers.
My daddy managed a grocery store. I was his only child, and he loved having me run to greet him when he came home from work. In order to make sure I kept doing that, he began bringing a treat for me every day. As soon as my teeth came in, he realized at least one of them was a sweet tooth. After that, the treat was always a candy bar. In those days, a nickel candy bar was about as big as the kind you pay a dollar or more for now.
My mother made sure she taught me all about everything she thought her only little angel needed to know, including willpower. It made quite an impact on my five-year-old brain, so I decided to test mine without telling anyone what was going on. Each day when the candy bar arrived, I gave Daddy a big kiss to thank him, and off I went, presumably, to consume my treat in private. Only instead of eating it, I stashed it away under the pad on my doll bed.
Every few hours, I would sneak into my play area and uncover the bars to count them. The tally grew over the next couple of weeks. There were Hershey bars, Paydays, Almond Joys, Baby Ruths, and a host of other candies which no longer exist. My mouth watered and I drooled considerably, but I stubbornly resisted the urge to indulge, while growing prouder each day of my remarkable willpower.
Then suddenly, on the seventeenth day, my resistance failed. Maybe it was because the area beneath the pad was overflowing, or maybe it was because it was as far as I had learned to count. At any rate, I could stand it no longer. My mouth was salivating, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have just one. Besides, I needed to create more space to put them. Like an alcoholic off the wagon, one turned into two, and so on until I had consumed ten of those sweet chocolaty concoctions. By that time, I was violently ill and never wanted to see another candy bar ever.
The aversion to candy lasted several weeks, while the sweet tooth recovered. Mom and Dad decided sweet treats were off limits, and so began the era of peanuts, chips and cheese crackers.
I figured my amazing willpower record still stood, so I didn't bother testing it again until my teen years, when I started putting on a few extra pounds. It was then I found out what I had learned at six still applied. I could manage to diet about seventeen days, before all those good intentions went flying right out the window.
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Writing Prompt Begin your non-fiction autobiographical story or poem with the words 'I remember...' Complete the sentence conveying a moment, an object, a feeling, etc. This does not have to be a profound memory, but should allow readers insight into your feelings, observations and/or thoughts. Use at least 100, but not more than 1,000 words. The count should be stated in your author notes. |
 Recognized |
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Begin your non-fiction autobiographical story or poem with the words 'I remember...' Complete the sentence conveying a moment, an object, a feeling, etc. This does not have to be a profound memory, but should allow readers insight into your feelings, observations and/or thoughts. Use at least 100, but not more than 1,000 words. The count should be stated in your author notes. 426 words
Thanks to mashdatbul68w for the art work
426 words.
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and 2 member cents. Thanks to mashdatbul68w for the art work
426 words.
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