Start your story with someone having their height marked on a door frame.

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 37 stories

“Between The Lines” by Thom Brodkin

Marie had never painted before—that was always John’s job. But the house needed to be sold and according to the real estate agent, it needed to be painted. Marie wasn’t mad at John for leaving the task to her; she was angry at him for dying. John had bought life insurance, but hadn’t anticipated the medical bills. He fought until his last breath, but the fight left Marie without a husband, without resources, and without a home.A painting novice, Marie attacked the big rooms and hallways first. They...

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“Door Time” by Jon Casper

I know the trees ain’t getting any shorter, so I guess that means I went and grew again. What else is new? Growing is all I ever done. It feels like forever ago, but I still remember my bedroom door frame had notches all the way up, from where Daddy kept track. I’ll never forget the day I outgrew the door frame. Daddy had just dragged the footstool out and grabbed the screwdriver.“C’mon, Sprout,” he said. “Door time.”Sprout’s what he called me, but my name’s really Henry.

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“You've grown son” by Anastasia Schroder

Trigger Warning: death, (sad content) “And? How much have I grown?” the boy asked his dad excited. “Let me take a look.” The father looked at the door frame with the white line showing the height of the son. The boy was jumping behind his father and wanted to know if he has grown a bit. It’s his sevens birthday...

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“Measurements” by Lavonne H.

*Proper names have been changed to protect against potential embarrassment ;)“Nana, measure me!”The memory is still vivid; evoking the excitement of two preschoolers jumping up and down beside me as I hold the pencil and the ruler over one child’s head at a time. Oh, how I dread the day the grandkids will no longer want to be measured on the wall behind the office door. It was a family tradition we had had when our sons were old enough to stand by our kitchen wall. Always excited to see what new height...

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“The House I Called Home” by Greg Gillis

It was the winter of 1969, and my father rushed my mother to the hospital. It was one week before I was expected to make my appearance in this world, but I simply couldn’t wait any longer. I was a restless child, or so I am told, so my mother and father had many sleepless nights, but inside that one-bedroom apartment, they made me feel loved despite my need fo...

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“The Mystery of the Bread Bag Drawer” by Travis "John Bill" Peek

Knowing my height was marked many times over on that dark, brown door frame; I can still recall my Grandma Louise’s kitchen quite vividly before my Uncle Carl did the remodel enclosing the old back porch. In Grandma’s kitchen; tucked in between the sink and the old electric stove, that may or may not have had all of its burners working at any given time, were three wooden drawers that us kids thought had been made outta ...

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“The house with Living Walls” by Darby Walker

My mother, I would assume like so many other mothers, always marked my height on the frame of a door with a pencil. It was something we both excitedly waited for, my father teased my mother and I by affectionately referring to her as a "dork." I was nine when it started, every time I went back to check how much I'd grown or add another line, well, it was then that I started to realize there was something wrong with our house.The lines were never there when we returned, always to the puzzlement of my mother and I. At first ...

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“A Broken Plate” by Kyla Ojalehto

Do you remember, trying to press your spine against the wall? And how it felt so cold and smooth in the September heat? And how the shag carpet snaked between your toes because it would be dishonest to wear socks? And how it was just sunny enough to see dead skin cells floating in the light let in from a West facing window? You gave purpose to that room that was so dusty and empty and smelt of stale carboard. You took a dull pencil and marked exactly above where your head was, pressing your hair down first of course, in the name of fairne...

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“Hurley Brown and the Steamboat Mystery” by Jesse Traynham

“See you later, Mom! Me and Alfred are taking the steamboat up the Mississippi for an adventure!” Hurley said. “Hold on there, Lee. It’s your birthday; you know the drill.” Hurley slid his shoes off, kicked them across the kitchen, almost hitting his sister Marina. “Sorry,” he said as he stood in the door frame. His mother grabbed a pen from the junk drawer and walked over to the door....

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“Return to #7” by Mickey Carroll

“Oh, my! Would you look at that?” Mary Thompson said, looking at the line she had just drawn on the door frame where the top of her son’s head had reached, putting her hands on her hips as if taking in a truly magnificent sight. “Look how much you've grown!" “I thought I felt bigger." Adam turned around to look for himself, "And I think I’m getting stronger, too. Look at this.” He pulled up the sleeve of his St. Louis Cardinals ...

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“Growth of a Bond” by Amber Parker

Permanent marker scent still lingers in the nursery after a short while ago it had squeaked against the molding of the doorframe marking the height of our, now walking child. His crystal-clear, deep ocean blue eyes looking back at me in delight; but with a wondering look. Always curious. Absorbing everything around him. I think to myself how lucky we are to have such an inquisitive little guy. “Look how much...

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“The Coat” by Kate Kilbee

With dust motes glinting in the sunlight all around her Becky was swamped by memories of when she had been a little girl. Straight ahead was the door frame where her height had been marked with a permanent marker every six months. She rubbed her fingers over the marks as if by doing so she could reach back to all those happy times in her past. She had just unlocked the front door and was standing in a de...

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“The scratch on the door” by Paula Bissoni

My earliest memory of that time is of a white door frame. I remember looking straight into it, and there was nothing before that. It was a white-yellowish color door. Maybe it was a kitchen door. Cannot recall. Mother turned me around and pushed me against it. The door was dirty. She had a sharp...

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“Growing Darlings” by Ema Fancher

Graphite marred the well-worn door frame. Edwin plopped little Micah in front of the lovingly graffitied frame and made the customary mark at the top of his head. With all the little darlings who’d passed through his home, he was running out of doorways. He gave Micah’s tiny head a tiny pat. Through a heavily mustached mouth, Edwin enthusiastically said, “Three whole inches! Right on track.” Micah w...

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“Holding Still” by Leah LaBree

“Hold Still!” I clamped my hands over my mouth, giggling. Mama lowered her thin hand, pencil and all, and shook her head. And yet, her smile only grew wider. Her eyes crinkled as her mouth stretched across her face. “Baby, you gotta hold still, or else I can’t mark it.” “Do you think I grew?” I asked her. I hoped I grew. I wanted to show her I could grow big and tall, like her. “I think you ...

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Start your story with someone having their height marked on a door frame.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 37 stories

“Between The Lines” by Thom Brodkin

“Door Time” by Jon Casper

“You've grown son” by Anastasia Schroder

“Measurements” by Lavonne H.

“The House I Called Home” by Greg Gillis

“The Mystery of the Bread Bag Drawer” by Travis "John Bill" Peek

“The house with Living Walls” by Darby Walker

“A Broken Plate” by Kyla Ojalehto

“Hurley Brown and the Steamboat Mystery” by Jesse Traynham

“Return to #7” by Mickey Carroll

“Growth of a Bond” by Amber Parker

“The Coat” by Kate Kilbee

“The scratch on the door” by Paula Bissoni

“Growing Darlings” by Ema Fancher

“Holding Still” by Leah LaBree

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that involves a character donating a box of clothes which have been outgrown.

Format your story in the style of diary entries.

Start your story with the words: “Grow up.”

Write about a character sowing seeds for the future (literally or figuratively).

Contest #139

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

244

Contest entries

139

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

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