As Mrs. Lion wrote in her post, “Two Rules Broken in Two Days,” I managed to break two simple rules. Both are lapses of attention. The first was when I forgot to close the shower door. This trivial requirement is in place to prevent our dog from wandering around on the wet shower floor and then tracking mud through the house. The second was failing to set up the coffee pot for the next day. I have to get that done by 5 PM the day before.
I know why I forgot the coffee pot. Sunday was our farm maintenance day. This week we had to feed our tomatoes and strawberries. I had to mix food for each of the three hydroponic “farms.” I was engrossed in my agricultural mixology and simply forgot the coffee pot. The shower door was clearly a senior moment. I have no idea why I did that.
There is a longstanding theory that we males have a limited ability to remember to do what we are told. Several disciplinary wives (sorry, I don’t remember which ones) wrote posts saying that their husbands would remember their rules for a few weeks after being spanked for breaking one. They said that their husbands would forget and need a spanking to remind them. I thought this was silly. Why couldn’t grown men remember simple chores? This one can’t.
It’s surprising to me. I guess disciplinary wives need to “remind” their husbands on a regular basis. I agree that there has to be zero tolerance for breaking a rule. Yes, I had an excuse for forgetting to do the coffee pot. Mrs. Lion didn’t think it was a good one. I have to agree. Mrs. Lion remembers to feed me. She stays on top of things. If she gives me a pass, two things happen. First, on some level, I learn that it isn’t very important to do my chore. Mrs. Lion can start feeling resentful that I don’t care enough to do what I should.
If she spanks me every time I miss, there is no resentment because she is letting me know in a very strong way that I displeased her. I am painfully reminded to remember to do what I am told. Is it worth ten or fifteen minutes of painful spanking? Of course, it isn’t. All I had to do was close the shower door. That takes five seconds. Forgetting costs me at least ten minutes of spanking. The math is simple. Even a lion can do it.
