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

Posted in Middle School on Oct 25, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 36 stories

“The Breeze Watches” by Teresa Renton

Submitted to Contest #139

T/W: Mental health; mild references to substance abuse; physical abuse/bullying. The Breeze Watches The pencil mark hovered a good two centimeters above the last one. I instructed my little boy to stand back against the doorframe for a second opinion. Jake giggled, delighted that he had dodged a mark by his dedication to growth. “I can’t turn my back for two minutes without you spurting up like Jack’s beanstalk.” With laughter in my eyes, I feigned annoyance that he’d sneaked that extra centimeter. He was six years old and couldn’t wait ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Catching Up” by Isabela Maher

Submitted to Contest #139

“That’s four feet - my baby is getting so tall!” her mother cried as she stepped back from the doorframe. Today was Evelyn’s fifth birthday, and she had been feeling rather grown-up until this moment. “I’m not a baby,” she declared, her head craned back to meet her mother’s gaze. “You’ll always be my baby,” she responded, trying her best to restrain from smiling. Apparently, she had been unsuccessful because the little girl’s frown deepened even further. “Don’t laugh at me,” Evelyn declared through the angry tears welling in her eye...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Inches and milestones” by Kat. L Haywood

Submitted to Contest #139

Muscle memory told me to make eggs. To fry bacon and grill fresh sliced tomato. To catalog the remaining staples and begin my rounds of weekly linen exchange. But mundane routine had no place in our house that morning, even if every fiber of my being said otherwise. The enormity of change sat like a weight on my chest. Shallow breaths and stinging eyes. I could not shy away from it. From some fathomless abyss of motherly tolerance and strength, I stood a little straighter and promised myself I wouldn't beg him to stay. "Mom. I'm ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“On The Nature of Shrinking” by Jaclyn Ramsey

Submitted to Contest #139

“I told you, Sophie, see? I told you, I’m shrinkin’.” The old man squinted through his spectacles at the fresh tick mark etched into the door frame just half an inch below another measurement mark. Neglected pale-yellow paint chipped away from the walls over the years like the elasticity of his skin, reflecting his age back at him. He shuffled across the room back to his wife’s bedside. “There! Now the proof is on our walls.” Sophie hardly had the energy to give her husband a full grin anymore. She was draped beneath her favorite quilt from...

5 comments 5

Read story

“Why are all Budgies called Billy?” by Steve Penn

Submitted to Contest #139

“Straight back” she says while she clumsily marks the door jam above my head with her pencil stub. “There, you’re taller than your dad was at your age”. I turn and see the gouges and marks in the glossed white frame. The name ‘Derek age 9’ is just readable as well as Billy and Michael at various ages. Dad is a good inch below my mark and I imagine him standing here as proudly as me, maybe on tip-toes. I take a seat on the old kitchen chair and am studying the light gleaming through the net curtains when I’m drawn to the excited chirping next...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Anonymous Helper.” by Crystal Glisson

Submitted to Contest #139

Amelia, look how much you have grown. I say, as I show her the line I had just marked on the door frame. She giggled and jumped up and down. Her curly red hair bounced till it looked like an untamed mess. Her blue eyes shined brightly, as she smiled at me. Her dimples just showing through. She was only four, but some days she acted like a teenager. My Jonathan would have loved to see her grow up. But, fate wouldn’t allow it. He died in a car accident when she was only two. Her red hair had come from him. She didn’t get my brown hair, b...

2 comments 2

Read story

“A Mother's Sigh's ” by Gemma Matterface

Submitted to Contest #139

A Mother’s Sighs By Gemma Matterface As I mark off my daughter’s height on the door frame I do a double take, she can't have grown that much in a month?! I checked again. ‘Its official’ I say, ‘you’re taller than your father’ ‘Yesssss’ Lucy hisses, she spins around to check her height. ‘I knew it!, I can't wait to tell him later’ She walks off, picking her phone up off the counter. ‘He’s not going to be happy!’ I say ‘hmm’ is the response, not even looking up, I have lost her to the digital world once again. She pulls up the hood on her ho...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Mom Won't Let Me Play On Birch Street” by David Mac Mahon

Submitted to Contest #139

Mom Won’t Let Me Play On Birch Street “Grow up, John! It’s not who’s taller, it’s who’s older that counts.” Tom is eleven, Tom gets to tell us what to do because me and John are still ten. I’ll be eleven next week, so I’m nearly the same age as Tom. John just marked all our heights on the door frame, to prove he’s the tallest. John’s the youngest, he won’t be eleven ‘till after Summer. We’ve be...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Lines ” by Dan Montesi

Submitted to Contest #139

“Hold still! I can’t draw a straight line with you fidgeting all over the place!” Aaron’s father laughed and tried to hold the level against his only child’s head while he marked the new height on the door frame. He wrote the date next to the line that showed Arron was at least two inches taller. It was a good day! Pancakes for breakfast, then off to school where Aaron knew his mother would set up a birthday celebration for the entire class in the afternoon. Aaron wasn’t a popular kid. He was overly shy and caut...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Markings on the Wall” by Sara M

Submitted to Contest #139

I wish someone would tell me why my mom has permission to put permanent marks on the wall in the bathroom, but I get my ass beat for drawing a beautiful cloud scene on the ceiling of my sister’s room. None of it makes any sense to me. Mom claims the marks she put on the wall are just a record of her children’s height. Okay, maybe that’s fair enough, but my reasons are just as good. My drawing is a record ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Scars” by Angela Turon

Submitted to Contest #139

All scars tell a story. They are the bruises on a heart; dark secrets buried deep inside a weary mind. Or the marks on a door frame. Smudged pencil lines. Faded blue and black ink. Frozen moments worn with time. These are the scars that I bear. It is the mere memory of her that tears my heart asunder. Strawberry locks frame an oval face, accented by amber tinted eyes and a pointed nose. Lavender and honey perforate the air, smelling of long summer days and sweet tea laced with the succulent golden nectar. Ever so lightly, I brush...

2 comments 2

Read story

“GROWING UP IN A FLASH” by Liliana Nealon

Submitted to Contest #139

GROWING UP IN A FLASHLiliana Noemí NealonThere was a little nook with a small window on one side of the bedroom. He doesn't remember much from those days, but he seems to recall that mom’s exercise bike was gathering dusk in that corner.Opposite the small window, there were shelves for dad’s sweaters, drawers for mom’s, and two narrow doors on either side with slanted wooden bars for shoes. Mom and Dad used the inside one of the little doors to measure the kids. When he was born, his brother was seven years old, and his sister, twelve. ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Between Three and Four Feet” by Savannah Munholland

Submitted to Contest #139

I tap my foot as I watch the cake in the oven. Is it supposed to start rising yet? The cake is still pretty flat to me, and it’s already been in there for five minutes. I open my phone and swipe down the excessive intro to the recipe until I reach the actual instructions at the bottom, which I read through another three times to make sure I got it right. Arthur barrels into the kitchen, clutching his new toy plane that he drags through the air and a pencil. He crashes into my legs in a hug, pressing his face into my thigh and holding ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Marks of Growth” by Abby Livingston

Submitted to Contest #139

“What? There’s no way.” I pull away from the wall and look at him incredulously. “See for yourself,” he replies, covering a laugh with the back of his hand, the one that holds the pen. I turn to analyze the marks on the doorframe. The newest marker of my height is, in fact, lower than its predecessor. “I did not SHRINK,” I say shrilly, turning back to him. His eyes are closed with mirth, and I allow myself a small smile. “I am twenty-seven years old! Not eighty! This is absurd. I was probably wearing shoes last time and made a ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Yellow Hat” by Casia J

Submitted to Contest #139

5’5”. That’s how tall I was the last time I marked my height on the dining room door frame. Mom used to get mad at my brother and I for making up her good door frame. “Have y’all lost the good part of y’all’s mind!?” she’d exclaim as she watched in horror us having our height war. “Y’all better find some paint and fix it!” So, we did. Every three months at the turn of the seasons my brother and I would mar...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Middle School – 49 stories

Format your story in the style of diary entries.

Middle School – 53 stories

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

Angst – 63 stories

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

Spring – 39 stories

Contest #139

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Growing Up

$250

Prize money

239

Contest entries

135

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 01, 2022 EST

Won by Alex Sultan 🏆

Title: buried in saipan

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 36 stories

“The Breeze Watches” by Teresa Renton

“Catching Up” by Isabela Maher

“Inches and milestones” by Kat. L Haywood

“On The Nature of Shrinking” by Jaclyn Ramsey

“Why are all Budgies called Billy?” by Steve Penn

“Anonymous Helper.” by Crystal Glisson

“A Mother's Sigh's ” by Gemma Matterface

“Mom Won't Let Me Play On Birch Street” by David Mac Mahon

“Lines ” by Dan Montesi

“Markings on the Wall” by Sara M

“Scars” by Angela Turon

“GROWING UP IN A FLASH” by Liliana Nealon

“Between Three and Four Feet” by Savannah Munholland

“Marks of Growth” by Abby Livingston

“The Yellow Hat” by Casia J

🌟 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

239

Contest entries

135

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: