My nephew is an annoying but a ridiculously cute kid. I love his curly little ringlets and big eyes. He can be a smarty pants. He also can throw one heck of a tantrum, so disciplining can be a challenge. Like, I’m stuck in this complicated endeavor- how can I discipline a child who looks like my doppelganger, I’m torn. When I was child, my parents would spank me until I was red and crying. Back then it was normal but now it can be considered as child abuse. Although, I don’t necessarily agree with it being child abuse I don’t think it should be the primary form of discipline. One Saturday afternoon while my mother was keeping my niece and nephew, we decided to go to a park in town which had a two-mile walking trial. The kids were ecstatic. I don’t know what it is but kids love to be outside contrary to the IPhone era. My nephew is four and he think he is Sid the Science Kid. As my mother put my niece in her stroller, my nephew and I took a head start and sped our way on the trail; he was running and I was walking. I held is hand tight as dogs passed us. Every few seconds he would say “What’s that?” A tree I replied. He then dashed to the edge of the pathway were the lake began, “What’s that!” It was a frog. Kids are annoying but ridiculously cute. For the next hour, the game “What is that” continued. I eventually grew tired and start making stuff up. “Oh, that thing with wings oh that’s a bat. That is an octopus. Occasionally, his forehead would wrinkle, but he was having fun. On the last mile, we stumbled upon a row of caterpillars his eyes lit up. “Look, look at the caterpillars!” I exclaimed. He ran up to them and crouch to peak at them. I kneeled beside him

. He pointed at them and smiled at me. What I thought was a beautiful moment laced with butterflies and ribbons turned quickly into a Quentin Tarantino’s movie, Grindhouse style. I swear I heard my nephew say “Mother F*&*& that’s a GOD#$# centipede he must die!” His eyes slanted, he balled his fist, and raised his little feet high and stumped on the first one, the second one, the third one…caterpillar guts spilled out. In horror, I was shocked I could not be moved. Once I shook of the initial shocked, I grabbed my nephew. “Don’t step on them I yelled.” I let him go and he proceed to stomp on more. It took the strength of all my ancestors not to knock him back to a fetus, I gripped his arm and I look him in the eye and said “Stop.” He threw his head back, swung it forward and hurled spit in my face.

I wiped the spit off my cheeks and I said “Do not spit in people’s faces.” He did it again. I was hot! I was about to whoop his behind. I raised my hand to strike him, but he looked at me like only a child can look at someone with tears in his eyes. I look at my nephew’s face, he look at me looking like me, with his beautiful head of curls and big brown eyes full of tears. He punked me. I thought quickly, I put my hands on his arms and I told him I wasn’t letting go. He kicked me, screamed at this top of his lungs, hollered for everybody and they mama to hear him, but I still didn’t let him go. I held on to him till he got tired and his breathing slowed down. I began to cry, because he was crying. I scooped him up and he wraped his arms around my neck. I kissed him and said “I love you so much I would never lay my hands on you.” He sighed, and buried his face in my neck. I carried him the rest of the way somberly. I couldn’t spank him, I couldn’t discipline him the way I had been when I was child. I couldn’t muster up the anger. As I recall the many times, I got spankings I look back on them laugh, but I don’t think I can continue the cycle especially when I have my own. Sorry grandma, no spankings in this house.