Slaps Hurt

Fiorella grew up being slapped--not often, but enough that she ducked whenever her mother moved her hand too quickly, which made Mom all the more angry. "You act like I beat you!" she complained, and if Fio cried, she said, "Stop crying. That didn't hurt!"
     But it did.
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Fio would like to tell you that she didn't slap her own children, but she did--less than Mother, but enough that she is now regrets it. Kids can be trying, but she should have found better ways of handling situations.
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 It's hard being a mother--to deal with a house, a husband, a job, and teaching your children right from wrong.
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When Husband was a child, he got switched with a willow, which he had to get from the back yard. It was the thing to do back then.
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When Husband and Fiorella were first married, he would slap her if she said something he didn't like. It wasn't often, but enough that she became so she became very careful around him. Many years later, way past the slapping stage, she asked him what made him stop.
     "I grew up," he said.
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Why is Fiorella telling you all this? Because it rides her, and she has to tell somebody.