Get up, you suck!" And I would get up again. Am I talking about bullying in the schoolyard? No, I found out much later in life that the bullies knew better than to threaten me.
This is what happened a few times in my basement. One of my brothers was an amateur boxer. He actually appeared on television once in the 50s. Thus, we had a couple of pairs of boxing gloves stored in our basement. They weren't the actual ones used in fights. They were more like big pillows. Still, a sock to the jaw had a jarring effect.
Once in awhile, my next oldest brother would take me down the basement for a bit of sparring. Honestly, I didn't know why I thought it was a good idea, but I went anyway. When you are a kid, maybe you think everything is going to be fun.
The gloves would be laced on and the routine would begin. I would go down, then get up. I would go down, then get up. This would continue until my mother would put an end to the fight.
Before you start feeling sorry for me, don't. This was a very valuable life lesson, even though it is rather obvious. I am thankful that this happened.
There are many times in life when you are flattened by something. You want to quit. Giving up seems the best and easiest option. Then you get up, sometimes to be flattened again. I learned that failure isn't measured in how many times you fall. It is measured by the one time you don't get up. Maybe you are going through a difficulty. We all do. My words to you? "Get up, you suck!"
My only regret is that I couldn't teach my older brother the same lesson. I'm sure life has taught him some wonderful things, too.
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