How Much Longer

Three-year-old Zoe was a beautiful child, curious and playful, with bright, smiling eyes and an infectious grin that would light up the room. She was the kind of kid who was always invited to all the parties, made friends wherever she went, and was often referred to as a “sweet” and “spirited” child. She was also rather precocious with a stubborn streak and a penchant for mischief. Not only that, but she was one of those children who were just a little too smart for their own good. She seemed to believe that everything on the planet was hers to use and play with as she wished and.  It never seemed to occur to Zoe that she should perhaps ask before doing something or playing with something that wasn't hers. Despite her parents’ best efforts, she knew no boundaries and tended to act without thinking as three-year-olds often do. Consequently, she spent a significant amount of time-out. 

One of Zoe’s favorite things to do was to play outside on her swing set.  She would swing, and climb, and slide. She also enjoyed finding “critters” and attempting to make them her pets. Early one morning Zoe decided she wanted to go play in the backyard. There was just one problem, everyone in the house was still asleep, and she wasn't allowed to go outside by herself. Just then, she saw her dog, Toby, heading to the backyard through the dog door. Well if he could go outside through the dog door, then so could she. And she wouldn’t be alone, Toby would be outside with her. So she crawled through the dog door after him and ran straight for her swing set. 

Not long after, we hope anyway, her parents woke up. Usually, Zoe would come into her parent's room when she woke up, so they were surprised when they woke up, and she wasn't there. Thinking perhaps she had slept late, her mother went to her room to check on her. She was shocked to discover that Zoe wasn't in there. She walked all through the house looking for her. She asked her husband, but he hadn't seen her either. After looking around for several minutes and finding nothing, Zoe’s parents ran into their son's room. Zoe loved her big brother and was often sneaking into his room to play.  She wasn't anywhere else in the house, so, they reasoned she had probably ignored his wishes and gone into his room to wake him up. Zach was still fast asleep and said that he hadn't seen her or anyone else for that matter.  Frantic, her parents checked all the closets, under the beds, in the showers, even the garage all while calling her name as loudly as they could. They were just about to call the police and report their daughter missing when Toby came back in through the dog door. It dawned on Zoe's parents that they hadn't yet checked the backyard. They ran outside and, sure enough, there was Zoe, safe and sound, playing happily outside, all alone.  

"Look, Mommy! I'm swinging!" 

"Zoe, what in the world are you doing out here?" Her mother exclaimed with relief and a hint of anger.  “You know you're not supposed to play outside by yourself!"  

"I came outside with Toby. " 

"You went through the dog door?" her father asked incredulously. 

"Yes, I’m not lonely; I came outside with Toby." Her father shook his bread in disbelief. 

Her parents went from relieved to furious. How dare she sneak out through the dog door and play outside as if Toby was supposed to watch her! She knew better.  There had to be some kind of consequence, her father said, so she could learn her lesson. Her mother wholeheartedly agreed. Zoe knew she was not allowed outside by herself and Toby did not count as a person.  

Since she never really asked for permission and just did what she wanted, Zoe was confused and angry to find herself confined to her bedroom until further notice. Her only reprieve was a restroom break.  Try as she might, no amount of pouting, pleading, negotiating, or typically irresistible charm would move her captors to release her. They remained resolute and determined. In her resentful anger at her will being crossed she decided to record her moments of captivity by making bold, black tally marks on her bedroom wall with her markers along with a dragon that was supposed to eat her parents and free her, but for some reason, didn’t. 

In a desperate attempt to free herself, she resorted to throwing a temper tantrum, complete with screaming, crying, and kicking the wall. How dare they lock her up like this! She was all of 3 years old, more than old enough to go outside and play by herself. After a good amount of this, her father declared her too old for such nonsense and took her to the restroom for a spanking. After he spanked her, Zoe thought it would be a great idea to laugh at him and proudly declare “Daddy, that didn’t even hurt!” She was a willful little thing who refused to go down without a fight. It was at this moment that her father decided she had graduated from a spanking spoon to a paddle. 

When she was returned to her room, puffy-eyed and hoarse from screaming, in protest, not in pain, she went back to her wall to continue marking time only to find her markers gone. As she looked around for them, she found, to her utter amazement, that the black tally marks and the dragon were gone as well. Wide-eyed, she looked up to find her mother standing in the doorway with her markers and a smile. She was then told that as a result of her "decorating" not only was she confined to her room, but that her art supplies had also been confiscated and would be returned to her once she had regained her parents' trust that she could keep her art solely on paper. 

As the minutes dragged on, she lay on her bed, contemplating, not the errors of her behavior, as she should have been,  but of her next scheme. Her plans may have been foiled this morning, but she would be free after lunch!