The Story of the Stockings

Again this is a different kind of story and one that will be forever etched in my memory, but not for the good feeling but my first real experience of the dark side of life. It took place during the first Christmas after my 13th birthday. I was finally a teenager and was thinking that I was grown up. Adults have a hard time understanding the budding teenager. They are no longer children but not quite adults. The young teenager still thinks in childish ways, but wants to be treated as a grownup. No wonder there is much confusion in this time period. Parents have hard time dealing as well as their children.

Well that Christmas I got my first pair of silk stockings, complete with the shoes of a young girl, and the garter belt. My mother had told me that stockings were expensive and I should be careful not to get any runs in them. They were to last for several times of wear. I wanted to show Mom that I was an adult and intended to get the maximum use out of these stocking and to take very good care of them. This was before panty hose and the stocking were made of silk and had a seam in the back. That seam looked like a black line going up the back of the leg and it was very difficult to make the seams straight. I still think that seamed silk stockings are sexy but you can’t find them any more. Too bad that times have changed and this item if clothing is lost.

We were going to the family Christmas party. This was my father’s side of the family. Mom had to work so it was my dad and my 3 sisters. Not all of my sisters had arrived on the scene yet. My father’s side of the family was not the loving type, and I really did not look forward to being with them. But I would be wearing my grown up attire for the first time and I was very proud that I was now grown up. That pride would be completely shaken before the night was over.

My father had 3 brothers living in the area. Two of the brothers had 5 boys between them and the third brother had 3 girls. Now the two older girls were hateful and hurtful. The elder girl was 2 months younger than I was and hated me with a passion. She would find great joy in making me the object of ridicule and practical jokes. She enjoyed getting my sister to join in with her plots. Therefore it was always me against the 3 other girls. To this day I can’t think of Elvis Presley with thinking was the ridicule they gave me when they found out I liked his music. They found great pleasure in searching for my diary and breaking the lock to see my secrets and telling everyone about them. My sister enjoyed all the pranks against me and helped them in any way possible.

Well this Christmas they were going to keep me in the place, under their feet. Since I was being treated as a young adult by my father, I was given responsibilities as a young adult in keeping the children in line before the presents were opened, assisting with the dinner, and assisting with the clean up. In a rare moment, my cousins and sister invited me upstairs for some girl talk. They had been very pleasant and friendly, so I had a positive attitude that maybe this would be a lot of fun and they too had changed. But it was a trap.

We entered a bedroom and started our girl talk. They asked me about the stockings and how I liked wearing them. Suddenly, the elder boy cousin, who was a few month older than me, came into the room. I told him that he was not invited because it was girl talk. He quickly informed me that he was invited. He rushed to my side and made me lay down on the bed. Then the youngest of the girl cousins came and helped to keep me down. As I tried to get up, the elder female cousin and my sister started for my legs. They raised my skirt and started to go for the garter belt. They tried to figure out how the undo the stockings from the belt, but I gave them a difficult time. I was kicking and fighting to escape but the hold of too great. When they couldn’t get the stocking loose from the belt, they started clawing at the stockings. I started to scream but my male cousin covered my mouth. Everyone was clawing at me, hitting me, and slapping me. I couldn’t get away. Finally my dad hears the commotion and called upstairs, asking what were we doing. By this time, the younger cousins were witnessing the attack and cheering their older brothers and sisters on as if it was a school basketball or football game.

The cousins got off of me and warned me not to say anything. I was a mess. The clothes were wrinkled and out of place, my hair was all over the place, and my stockings had been torn to shreds. All I good think about was that I had let my mother down. These beautiful stocking were to last me for many days and I had only worn them for a few hours. I started down the stairs, crying and ashamed. My father met me on the steps. He hugged me and told me it would be aright. I told him about the attacked and how my stockings were ruined and how Mom would be ashamed of me. He consoled me and told me that Mom would not be angry. He made me feel safe and unashamed again. I think we left the Christmas party shortly after that because I really don’t remember what happened after the talk I had with my father.

Today the lack of memory would be considered shock after a violent episode, so it is no wonder I don’t remember the events after the brutal attack. Within a few days, my mother gave me a new pair. I wear them responsibly and with great care. I was proud of my new status as a young lady, but never showed that pride. Years later, my mother told me that she was so upset with my sister for her part in the attack and that the replacement stocking were taken out of her allowance. My mother vowed that she would not allow any situation of sister against sister happen again. Years later, a similar situation came up with my daughter and the daughters of my sister. Both my sister and Mom were fast in breaking this vicious cycle, and it never did happen again.

Morale: Allow your children to grow up but keep in mind their emotional age. If a child shows timid ness and shyness with certain relatives, there is a reason. It is a duty of a parent to find the reason and resolve the situation to the best interest of all the children. But most importantly, be supportive to your child.