The View from Here

It has been a little over a year since, after a long hiatus, my husband and I reinstated spanking to its rightful position in our lifestyle. If you would like to read about it, Bonnie very kindly allowed me to share my experience with her readers here.
Once my interest in spanking was reawakened, I lost no time in reading all I could about it, in books and novels, and of course on the internet. I wanted to make up for lost time by trying every position and buying every implement. I talked about spanking non-stop often and begged to be spanked each evening.

My husband, on the other hand, did not have quite the same obsessive interest in the subject, and got tired of hearing about it. When he finally complained that our conversations were "all spanking, all the time" I realized that, in my enthusiasm, I had lost some perspective.
What I propose to do, from time to time, is to address a single spanking-related topic, tell you my fantasy of how I would like things to be, then share the reality of how it actually is, including the positive way in which we are approaching the ideal.

The picture at the top of this post was taken by my talented husband from our backyard. It's there to remind me that, while we each might see things from a different angle, we both share the same view.
For a start, I'm going to explore the way we each go about finding information about all things spanking.

The Fantasy - We will sit at the computer together, reading helpful and informative blogs, composing comments together and discussing how we can apply what we have read into our daily spanko life. Ron will eagerly read our how-to spanking books and tell me what he'd like to explore next.

The Reality - While I am a word person, my husband is very much picture-oriented. While I can devour pages of description about a spanking and be very turned on by it, Ron would likely glance at the first few lines then turn his attention elsewhere. Any blogs he visits would have to be ones with plenty of photographs. And while I am a detail nut, he doesn't feel the need for any more instructions. He knows where to find my bottom and what to do to it.

Where we are now - Ron enjoyed a couple of pictures of Santa administering a spanking that I sent him last December; they have now been added to his wallpaper collection and I expect to see them again once the holidays roll around.
I'm going to make a point of sending him other interesting theme pictures - football cheerleaders come to mind - as I find them, as well as letting him read over my shoulder when I see an interesting or funny blog post that features text that's enhanced with good graphics. That just might open the door to discussion, or at least give us something to laugh about or admire together. It will also be a great way to introduce him to some of my many blogging friends.

The Club

One of the first comments I received on my very first post was from swan, who welcomed me to the club.
That really got me thinking. I'm pretty much a loner, and usually do my best to avoid group activities. And now here I am, a member of a club, feeling comfortable about it, and enjoying being part of the blogging world that up till now I had only peered into from outside.
The last time I really felt like part of a group was during the year after graduating from University, when I returned to get a Bachelor of Education degree. For that single year, we were all equals. There were no in-crowds, no established cliques, no seniors and juniors. We were a very mixed group of students of all ages and from all parts of the province and beyond. Our single shared interest was education, although each of us majored in a unique combination of specialties, based on individual expertise and interests. We shared our triumphs and terrors of the student teaching rounds, and got through the year by supporting one another.
Until today, that year had been the best year of my life. Now I feel that, as a blogger, I am again on a level playing field. We live all over the world, with unique lifestyles, perspectives and opinions. Our common enthusiasm for some form of spanking is what binds us loosely together.
One of the terms I learned in my first month at the college was 'isolate'. An isolate is a child who stands by himself at recess, eats lunch alone, and is always chosen last for teams. When our professor first explained that term, a chorus of murmurs rippled around the room. Many of the people in my class had been isolates. When we discussed it, we found that it was partly what had motivated us to become teachers. Almost unanimously, we wanted to prevent other children from suffering as we had.
It's pretty easy to feel like an isolate if you're interested in pursuing a spanking lifestyle and can't find someone to share it with you, or even to understand where you're coming from. It's not easy for many of us to explain or even understand why we are the way we are, and why we do that thing we do.
The other remarkable thing I remember about that year at teachers' college was the fear that had been instilled in some of those young teachers-to-be by their past teachers. In my elementary education classes, it was startling to see educated young adults afraid to play with fingerpaints, make a collage, shake a tambourine, or mime a day at the beach. It was so hard for them to let themselves go and 'colour outside the lines'.
As spankophiles of various persuasions, we are all, to a greater or lesser extent, colouring outside the lines. Our preferences aren't necessarily something we want to advertise to the world, but the blogosphere gives us a safe environment in which to talk about our lives and our preferences. It's okay to 'let go' here.
All in all, it's a pretty great club. Thanks for making me feel welcome.