## A Second Christmas Story (Part 8: Final): A Trip Down Memor

Post by jennifer » Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:33 pm

A Second Christmas Story (Part 8: Final): A Trip Down Memory Lane:
I got this done a little bit quicker than I usually do. It might be a little while until my next story though. I just had a block of time to fill so, I did.
Hey everyone, here we are again with another new story to share with all of you. This sadly is the last in the Christmas series of my teen years. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. I think I am going to go through a second set of stories from my teenage years before I go back to my earlier childhood. This has been a fun trip for me down memory lane with my brother who has been giving me some of the details of these to share with everyone. This is probably my favorite in this series, so I hope that everyone will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy sharing it. (A quick admittance, I don' t remember exactly what was said, but I am going to be filling it in to move the story correctly. I still remember the gist of it though,) Without further ado, here we go.
It was new years morning quiet and peaceful as I looked out the window on what would be my second to last morning at my grandparents house. It was a wonderful time every year to come up here and spend a week and a couple of days with the extended family. Unfortunately, our winter vacation was almost up and I would have to go back to school in a few days. Everyone had been up late to ring in the new year. The party had been long and fun with plenty of excitement to share and stories to trade. Strangely enough, this was one of the first new years in a while where we got through the whole night without anyone getting tied up. It usually happened early during the celebration and either Lucy or I usually ended up ringing in the new year without the use of our hands and sometimes our feet. But, no one had been in the mood to play and I didn't really feel like it so we skipped it. I had gotten to wear my straight jacket one more time since my first experience with it for an afternoon, but that really isn't a story worth recalling.
The snow was falling quietly outside as everyone was still fast asleep from the part the night before. I was in a long pink night gown and my teddy slippers. I had already gotten out of bed and stepped out of the room careful not to wake Amy who had been up well past her bed time or Lucy. It was only a little after six when I finally sneaked a look at the clock in the kitchen. I had gotten just over five hours of sleep. I could tell school was coming because my body wasn't letting me sleep in anymore. I was a little down about the morning's situation and there was nothing I could really do about it. I guess I should explain one of our family traditions. Every year on the last day of the year, we have a family photo of everyone dressed up formally for a Christmas memory. The girls are all in dresses and the guys are in suits and ties or a sweater. Unfortunately, I was having a problem with that this morning.
Almost a third of the clothes I packed were pajamas and most of the rest were mostly play clothes and things for lounging around in. Currently, I had nothing proper to wear for the photo. I had packed everything that I needed to complete the outfit. I had white tights, hair ribbons and a set of t-strap maryjane dress shoes packed for the today. But, I had left the main dress I wanted to wear in the picture back at home in my closet. In fact, I was wearing the only dress I packed and a night gown wasn't anywhere near appropriate for the picture. I had the sweater I had packed, but it was still dirty from being warn all week and I had nothing to go with it formally. I didn't know what I was going to tell my mother. I could here the lecture already in my head about how important this was and that I should have been more careful packing. I wouldn't have been surprised if she threatened to make me walk home and get it. (Sarcastically speaking of course)
So, I sat by the window and watched the snow fall silently onto the back lawn. I felt just like it that morning all cold and blue reflecting the sky as it fell. I was so lost in thought over the matter that I was quite startled when the address game. "Good morning Jennifer, what are you doing up so early. I figured you would still be in bed at this hour this morning." I almost jumped out of the kitchen chair I was sitting in when my I heard the voice. I jerked around quickly and saw my grandmother standing behind me staring out the window at me. I gave her a heavy sigh followed by a polite "good morning" that I forced myself to return out of manners. She started out at the snow falling with me for a few minutes. It's funny how grandparents can always read into your thoughts and feelings so easily and know just what to say. My grandmother gave me another moment of private thought before she finally interrupted my depressed state.
"So, what wrong with you this morning, didn't you have a fun week with us. I know it's sad to have to leave, but well see you again around Easter and we always have email and the phone until then." I sighed again and told her that I was sad to be leaving, but that wasn't the source of my discontentment that morning. I painfully broke down and shared my failure with her about forgetting the dress at home. I let out the details about letting everyone down and sat back waiting for her disappointment with me to come out. Surprisingly it didn't. "Well, is that what this is all about? That really isn't all that big a deal. Everyone here will still love you even it you wore your nightgown and slippers in the picture. It's about having the family together not the clothes." I appreciated her attempt to cheer me up over something that was so trivial. I knew she was right. However, it was a big deal to me and I was still down in the dumps about it. I thanked her for the reminder. The words were kind, but it still left me without anything to where for the picture. But, my grandmother wasn't willing to accept defeat yet. At least not without a fight.
She gave me a moment and put her thinking cap on before she spoke again. She probably had the answer right away, but she let me think it took her a while to find it. "Well, if all you need is a dress for the picture, I probably have something that would look pretty on you around here somewhere. Your two aunts had a lot of pretty clothes growing up and I save quite a few of them. Why don't we go down the basement and have a look around for something?" My head perked up almost instantly at the suggestion with a renewed sense of hope on the matter. I rose from where I was sitting and nodded in agreement with her. With that, the two of us head down towards the steps to the basement. It was a short decent into the deeper part of the basement. Once we arrived at the bottom of the stair my grandmother flipped on the lights and we headed around the corner to a storage room set apart from the rest of the basement with a old wooden door. My grandmother opened it and we entered turning on a second light as we entered the room.
The room was filled from the floor to ceiling with clothes and other things my grandparents never through away. My grandmother asked me my size and I shared it with her so she could at least get a ball park of where to start sorting. The place was a mess, but she had all of it sorted and kept straight in the front of her mind. It took her less than five minutes to locate what she was looking for. I think she had it in mind from the get go, but now it was coming into reality. After sifting through a rack, she came to a dress that was still wrapped and preserved against the elements of the room in a plastic bag. She dislodged it from where it was hanging and checked the size before offering it to me for a final approval. "Will this do for you Jennifer?" I looked the dress over from top to bottom as my grandmother unpacked it from it's protective coating. I knew the moment I saw it that it was perfect. It was even better than the one I left at home. I nodded with approval and told her my opinion of it. She invited me to leave the room with her and head back upstairs so that she could iron it before I wore it and get the wrinkles out of it.
The two of us headed back upstairs and my grandmother unpacked the ironing board and iron and set to work once it had heated up. I looked the dress top to bottom as my grandmother's experienced hands worked it back into almost prime perfection. It was a simple dress to say the least with a rich lavender color. It fastened in the back with a couple of buttons behind and below the neck line. It had long sleeves and full shoulders both of which, were slightly ruffled. The collar was a little ornate in design with a flowery trim around it. The bottom of the garment was long in length and spread out quite a bit at the bottom. The waist secured with a large red sash that was meant to be tied in a large bow in the back for a touch of cuteness to it. It was definitely a dated style, enough to make me wonder if my aunt had been the first owner or it. But, it looked great as the wrinkles came out of it and I couldn't wait to try it on. Sensing my anticipation, my grandmother hurried her work and soon presented it to me as "good enough for the picture" and gave me approval to try it out for size.
I took it excitedly and headed upstairs to get the rest of my stuff from the room I was sharing with my sister and cousin. It wasn't long before I was in the bathroom pulling the gown on over my head and tying the sash off to finish the job. I looked at it in the mirror and twirled around a bit to get a feel for it and I had to admit the dress fit me pretty well. I took a few more minutes and settled my hair back into a style with the ribbons, I finished it off by adding my maryjanes overtop of my tights and buckling them in place. The shoes were flat bottomed and offered a comfortable step. I liked a dressy look for formal occasions, but I couldn't stand wearing high heels for any extended length of time. They just got two uncomfortable to walk in after a while. These were a good compromise I thought as I gathered up my discarded nightgown and slippers and headed back to the room to drop them off. Once that errand was finished, I headed back downstairs to show my grandma the results of her labor. She seemed pleased as she greeted me with a warm smile.
"Well look at you, Jennifer. That really looks like it fits you well what do you think." I told her that I loved the way it looked and thanked her for everything. She walked forward quietly and handed me something else. They were a long pair of white formal gloves that would go all the way up to the elbow when adorned. "I found these downstairs while you were changing. They go with the dress would you like to try them on as well?" She asked offering them to me. I took them and looked them over for a moment. I pulled one of them on and drew it up the length of my forearms and pulled the sleeve back down covering my hand all the way to the wrist. I repeated the process with the remaining one. They were made of a soft and warm material of some kind, maybe a form of satin or something, I don't quite remember. They had a pretty snug fit, but they added a nice touch to the outfit anyway. I felt like a five year old playing dress up, but I liked the way they looked and decide to leave them on for the time being.
I looked up at my grandmother and watched the smile on her face. I could tell that she was waiting for a response so I provided one. "Pretty neat, but I think I still prefer mittens." The two of us shared a good laugh over the little joke. "I have to admit Jennifer, that gown look nice on you. Have a seat and we'll wait for the rest of the family to wake up." I returned to my chair and resumed my vigil of the falling snow. There was just something that relaxed me watching it drift in slowly from the sky to the ground. It was only a little after 7 and I didn't expect any more company until 9 or 10 at the earliest. My brothers hated getting dressed up for things like this. They waited until five minute before and were changed back five minutes after the picture. Still, I was content to sit and wait for the picture as I was. My grandmother stood behind me and watched the snow with me looking down and back up at regular intervals. I could tell she was pleased with herself this morning and I was also.
We waited a couple of minutes before either of us broke the silence. "You know Jennifer, you remind me so much of your aunt when she was your age. She liked to sit right there where you are in chair and watch the world go by outside that window early in the morning. I think she was happy just to be part of it." I looked up with a smile and turned my gaze back outside wordlessly. My grandparents shared all sorts of stories about my father and my two aunts growing up. But, they kept a few things to themselves. It was true that I was just content to sit here and stare out at the world next to her without a care in it. "Yep, no doubt about it you look just like her with one exception." She said with a another glare of happiness. "Stay put I am going to go throw a pot of coffee on for this tired bunch and we can talk in a few minutes if you like." With that my grandmother crossed the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker and set about the task of getting the pot ready to go.
I heard a few drawers and a cupboard open in the background, but it wasn't enough to distract me from the moment at hand. I watched as a raccoon made it's way across the yard leaving a fresh set of tracks in the snow. I watched with curiosity as it disappeared quietly around the corner of the garage. I was so engrossed in it that I almost jumped out of my seat when I felt my grandmother's hand on my right wrist. I looked over my shoulder and saw her crouched down curiously with the gripping arm in-between two of the spokes on the chair. I looked down and saw a small coil of white clothesline in her other hand neatly coiled up. I gave her a curious look seeking an explanation for her actions. "Just relax Jennifer, I was just going to tie your hands. If that is okay with you? I watch you play these games all the time around here." I nodded and turned my view back towards the window. I decided not to spoil the moment. Besides, it felt like a good time to be tied and I wasn't really opposed to the invitation.
My grandmother pulled my right hand slowly backwards and straightened it through the spokes or the chair before clasping it loosely with her hand that was holding the coiled rope. She, switched off the coil to her other hand and gently guide by left wrist back until they where set parallel to each other with three chair spokes between my arms. My grandmother held my arms with one hand while she uncoiled the short rope with the other. She began by tying off one of the rope around my left wrist with an overhand knot leavening about a six in tail or so. Next, she took the long free end of the rope and made about 6 or 7 passes around my parallel wrists horizontally pulling the rope gently snug with each pass. Once the loops were complete, she took the last trailing foot of rope and cinched my hands off a couple of times in the middle before she tied the loose ends together on top of the tie with a secure knot. She stepped back and looked down at me now being tied to the chair.
Feeling her retreat, I decided to give the ropes a test run and pulled against them a few times in a couple of different directions. They held tight and didn't yield the slightest slack to my efforts. I struggled a little bit harder but the ropes held snug. I was surprised how effective such a simple tie could be as I looked up backwards at my grandmother. "There we go, now you really do look just like your aunt. She loved to sit their tied up and stare out the window early in the morning. I used to tie her up almost every morning for a half hour before she left for school" I was a little surprised by the comment. I knew that my aunts and father tied each other up as kids, but I didn't realize my grandmother had been in on it also, or that she was so good at it. It felt a little weird to have grownup doing the tying, but I was content with it. I gave the comment a moment to set in and then I looked up at her. "This is a pretty good job. Do you think you could do my feet too?" I asked looking up at her.
My grandmother met my stare with a smile and a puzzled look. "I guess there are some differences between you two. Your aunt never liked me to tie her feet up. Something about bothered her. I guess she liked still having a little control over the situation, but if you want your legs bound to I would be more than happy to oblige." My grandmother finished her little speech and retraced her steps back to the kitchen drawer to retrieve a second coil of rope. She returned promptly and knelt down in front of me proceeding to being. She tied my feet in the exact same mannerism that my hands had been bound with horizontal loops and a few cinches. However, she left about a foot tail on the end of the rope and tied it off to the cross bar under the chair drawing my bound feet backwards slightly. Once she finished, she stood up and stepped back. "There, how is that?" She asked waiting for a response.
I gave my feet quite a few good solid tugs first against each other and then against the anchor rope. Both proved futile and I began to realize just how securely I really was bound. My grandmother didn't repeat the question at hand. The look of frustration on my face said it all and she gave me a smile about the success of her labors. It was the second time she had made me happy in one morning and it was reflected in her. I gave up struggling and just surrendered to the idea of being like this for while. With my efforts ceased, my grandmother turned her attention away from me for a moment and onto herself. She recrossed the kitchen and poured herself a mug of hot coffee. Which she lifted with one hand and brought another chair over to join me sitting by the window. She deposited the chair and seated herself adjacent to myself. My grandmother took the cup in both hands and helped herself to a warm drink before replying.
"Here, want a sip to help you wake up a little?" My grandmother offered me the cup which, I politely refused. I hated coffee at that age and couldn't stand the tasted, especially when it was just black. "Suit yourself, more for me I guess. So, Jen do you want anything else a gag or any more ropes? I take requests you know." My grandmother offered with a warm smile. "Not really. I really don't liked being gagged. I just makes your mouth hurt and then you cannot talk either." I replied. "I don't blame you one bit, your aunt never liked it growing up either. I really didn't care much for it myself when I was growing up. But I see your brothers use them on you all the time and I just assumed I should offer." I took the comment in stride and explained that I put up with it because part of being tied up was not having control over the entire situation I was in. She smiled at the comment and took another sip of her coffee.
"You used to play tie up when you were a little girl, Grandma?" A asked as I squirmed about in my ropes trying them against my strength. "Yeah I did, but I did more of the tying than of being the one tied up. I was pretty good with knots and my younger brothers and sister hardly ever got out. We never had much money, but we always had rope or twine around on the farm and we could use that for something to do. After all, there wasn't all this fancy TV and computer stuff back then. It was just one of the games we played to pass the time once in a while. I still think I am pretty good at it, I haven't lost my touch after all these years." I gave the ropes a couple of more struggles and squirms. I had to admit she was right. I was held very securely in place with only two pieces of rope. The one on my ankles was really only cosmetic. I doubted that I could get free if all she had done was tie my hands. "I guess you're still pretty good at this after all, I don't think that I am going to be able to escape from this at all."
My grandmother soaked up the comment and took another sip of her coffee before continuing. "Your aunt kept me in practice over the years. I used to tie her up every morning like this before she got ready to go to school. We both liked to get up early and just watch the world go bye outside the window. She used to sit in that chair right where you are in her pajamas with her hand tied behind her back for about half an hour. Then I had to let her go so that she could eat breakfast and get ready for school." I was surprised by the comment. I liked being tied up on and off, but it wasn't that often for me. "Did you really tie her up everyday in the morning?" I asked as I looked up at her. "Only if she wanted to, but after a while it became every morning for about half an hour or so, Sometimes I would leave her a little longer on the weekends if she wanted. But we always had stuff to do, so she couldn't stay tied all day. There were times I bet she would if I let her." She finished her the first half of her cup of coffee and returned her gaze to outside looking as if she was staring through her own memories, much like she was looking through the window.
"Yeah, it all started a when your father and your two aunt were a little younger. The three of them fought like cats and dogs when they were growing up. There was one occasion that it got so bad that I had to pull your father and aunt off each other before someone got hurt. I made them make up, but after I had left the room for five minutes they were at each other's throats again. I pulled your dad off of his sister and took him up into the kitchen and tied him right to a chair. Then I got your aunt and repeated the process. It was the only thing I could think of to keep them apart." I continued to listen as she concluded the anecdote. "Strange thing was, after an hour or so everything quieted down. The two of them stopped fighting and asked me if I would let them go if they behaved. I took them at their word and untied both of them. The rest of the day was quiet and everything calmed down quite a bit."
"It was almost a week later when your aunt came to me and asked me if I could tie her up again. It was just out of the blue. I asked her why and she said it had kind of been fun and she wanted to try it again. I gave her what she asked for and kept her prisoner for about an hour before she asked to be released. A few days later, I found her all tied up in the basement with clothesline. After some coaxing she finally let me know that your father tied her up when she asked him too. As a few weeks drew on, their games started becoming more frequent and you aunt wasn't the only one on the receiving end." My grandmother took another drink from her mug. I sat back and continued to listen. "I let her go and had a good talk with the two of them about it. Mostly about not keeping someone tied up for too long and some things that they weren't to do. Their games evolved out of it. I think your brothers and you play a little more often than they did, but they had more chores and other things they had to do during the day than you do."
My grandmother looked down at me. I was no longer looking out the window, I was looking up at her. My attention had been drawn into the conversation. It was neat to finally hear some of the background of my fathers history with being tied up as a kid. "It wasn't long before your aunt asked me to start tying her up more often when your father was busy. Eventually, it became something that we did almost every morning. It was kind of her time to just sit comfortably and let her mind focus on the world." My grandmother finished the last sip of her coffee and looked down at me. "I guess it's no surprise that you and your brothers and cousins like this stuff. I guess you could say that it's in your blood or something like that." She finished with a quiet grin. Another voice chimed up from behind the two of us.
"Well, mom you really are reading more into that than is necessary. I always just thought of it as something to fun to do before school. Being tied up was just relaxing." I looked up to see my aunt standing in the hallway. I was so engrossed in the story that I hadn't even heard her come in. "Good morning Jennifer you look comfortable this morning." She commented as she crossed the room. My aunt bend down, gave a hug and patted me gently on the head. I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed. "It was just part of our morning routine. Something I could do with my mother before I went off to school for the day. I guess I am still an early riser. By the way Jennifer, that dress looks good on you but your hair is a little off for it. Do you want me to fix it for you."
I nodded and told her that sounded like a good idea to me.
My aunt came and knelt down behind me and started to undo the ties I had secured my hair with earlier that day. She took the divided look and drew the longer length of my hair back into a single shaft. It came out of a gathered bundles she made on the top of my head. Finally, she tied it off and secured it with a red bow tied from a thick ribbon my grandmother handed her. She took a small mirror off the counter and held it up in front of me to show me the end result. "There Jen, what do you think. It looks a lot better to me." I looked in the mirror and turned my head to take in the full view of it. The style wasn't anything that I would have thought of trying on my own. But it turned out really well and accented the outfit perfectly. "That looks pretty to me. Thanks you two really know how to make this package work."
The two of them smiled first at me then at each other. It was turning out to be a great morning after all. "Well Jennifer, I think it's time we untie you and start getting breakfast ready for the crew. The smell of warm food will probably get them moving. After that we can have our picture So, what do you say are you ready to be free yet?" I wished I could have stayed their forever. But, I knew it had to come to an end sometime. Now was as good a time as any and I let them know I was ready. My aunt circled around to my front and undid my feet while my grandmother released my hands. The two of them coiled the ropes and they were returned to the kitchen drawer they came from. I stood up and stretched a little getting the stiffness out of my limbs while my aunt returned the chair to it's proper place at the table.
Not long after we made breakfast and set about getting everyone else up for the day. The family had the picture later that day and it turned out just fine. My mother wasn't mad about my forgetting the dress and I liked the one my grandmother got me better anyway. She let me keep it and take it home with me at the end of our visit. I ended up wearing it to a school dance later in the year and even around the house a few times just for fun. We spent one last night together and early the next morning we all loaded all of our stuff. I ended up in the middle of the back seat in my car harness over the green snowsuit again. Finally, we headed home until next year.
Well, that concludes this story. It is another one of my favorite memories growing up. My grandmother knew how to turn almost any situation into a good one. It was a fun morning and I got to finally learn some of the background to the games my father played as a kid. It just goes to show that this sort of thing has been being played for a long time. Unfortunately, while this has been a great story it sadly is the last of this series of events. It was one of the most memorable times for me growing up. These weeks really marked the change in my life from a child to a teenager. I got a new toy, the straight jacket, and tried a few new things. I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading this group and I am looking forward to posting the next one.
. . . . . . . .
Alright everyone, I now the space here is reserved for stories, but I need to take a moment for discussion at this point. First, I have to admit that I have enjoyed posting this series of stories on my site and Canucks. I was a little concerned about the reactions I would get at first, but most of the feed back has been positive. I was really nervous about posting these two and half months ago. But I now feel that these have served as a good bridge and staging ground about some of the stories from my teen years. Now however, I stand at a divided cross roads about, which path to continue on. There has been some interest in my continuing on with some of my teenage experiences. But, there are some things in my background in the years that I skipped over that I need for a few of them to continue forwards much further. I have a shorter experience I can share without these details about a weekend that I spent with Mary at her house not long after we got back from winter break. It does cover the things that some of you wanted to know about Mary. The problem lies in the content of the stories and the mixture of feed back I have gotten so far.
Most of the readers I have heard from seem to like the "light heartedness" or "cuteness" ,to quote a couple of emails. of some of the stories I have posted so far. As I got older, I began to experiment with some newer ways of being tied up and a wider variety of things. There is nothing sexual about the nature of what happened to me. That was never part of TUG's for me. Also, after this last group of stories, there is nothing that would be inappropriate for my site or the standards Canuck and Daniel set on their board. Mostly, it has to do with the length of time I would spend tied and the ways I was tied. My concern is that I don't want to offend anyone in this community by proceeding without warning.
This has been a great experience for me so far being able to post here and share my past with everyone. But before I proceed further, I need to get some feed back about everyone's opinion on this idea. I've decided that I am going to hold off on posting anything else for a little while until I can gather some opinions on the matter. Please take a moment and let me know what you thought of the last eight stories as a whole. Also, I would appreciate hearing whether I should head forward or head back to where I was before I started this group of stories. Any information you would like to share would be helpful. If you would like to send me a comment you don't feel comfortable posting publicly you can email me at jenniferstories@gmail.com if you would rather. Thanks everyone in advance. I hope you have enjoyed reading my experiences as much as I have writing them.
Jennifer

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Post by zme » Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:58 pm

now correct me if i'm wrong but i think i can safly say that i can speak for everyone when i say that you should write what you are comfortable with and nothing more. the people both on this board and your site enjoy your stories and will support your decision fully.
wow that was a mouth full.
btw great story, if you had a dollar for every good story you wrote you could retire early, 20 years early.