Wednesday 15 May 2019

DADDY'S GIRL: 100 word story

This week's Friday Fictioneers photo prompt led me to think about parents' aspirations and how childhood fears can block those aspirations. I'd be interested to hear your opinion.



PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields



DADDY'S GIRL

Daddy was an Olympic swimmer. Not a gold winner, but a good swimmer.
He was competitive for his daughter. He took her to the pool and carried her, screaming, into the water.
Daddy despaired and then got mad. The daughter despaired and then got sad. He tried enticement, but her fear of failure blocked his efforts.
She grew up knowing she wasn't good enough for him.
After he died she conquered her fears and learned to swim. She would never be an Olympic swimmer, but wasn't finally being able to swim enough? 
Wouldn't Daddy finally be proud of her?






I hope you enjoyed this story and I look forward to your comments. 


If you wish to read more Friday Fictioneers stories, you can find them listed HERE


If you'd like to join in the challenge, you'll find all the information posted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields 

- her blog is listed on 'My Blog List' on the right hand side of this page.


On a final note - I always try to visit the blogs of everyone who comments on mine. If I haven't commented on yours it's either because I haven't been redirected to your blog when I've clicked on your name or because you have a wordpress account that requires me to sign into wordpress first. 
Please check and amend your settings. Thanks.



56 comments:

  1. Being able to swim was probably a greater feat than winning a medal

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  2. Does Daddy deserve to be proud of her? - perhaps she would have responded better without being pushed so much. Yet we always want to please our parents. Good piece.

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    1. Yes, I wanted to explore how a parent pushing a child can cause hang-ups and feelings of unworthiness.

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  3. His expectations definitely ruined the potential for any good relationship between them.

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    1. Yes, she spent her life feeling unworthy of him.

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  4. Parents can be so unrelenting...

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    1. They can. Perhaps through blindness rather than unkindness.

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  5. How many parents are truly like this? I bet there are many and that is sad and really can screw up the kids. I. Glad she learned to swim and, I think, conquered her fear of her dad’s displeasure. Sometimes, dads can see how they were and amend their bad behaviour but others never do so she can’t care what he thinks but just do it for herself.

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    1. Yes, I do think this sort of thing happens. We are all affected by our childhood experiences whether we realise it or not.

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  6. I see this type of thing in my counseling office. Not from the parent, but from the adult child who is still struggling with a sense of not being enough, of being a failure. When we impose our own hopes and expectations on a child, we set up a cycle of failure and rejection that can carry on into the next generation. Very sad.

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    1. It is sad - but I hope I hit the right note with this. It's hard to convey everything in so few words!

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  7. Nicely done. I did a story with a similar theme, but a different slant.

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    1. Thank you. It's always interesting to see how other writers have interpreted the same photo prompt. I'll take a look at your story. :)

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  8. A good story, Susan and sadly true for some. Parents don't give birth to or father clones but individuals. My mother told me how her father "taught" her and her siblings to swim by throwing them into deeper water. She hated it and would never swim in water over her head. The fear remained her entire life. --- Suzanne

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    1. That is so sad! I had a frightening experience when my mother dipped me into a swimming pool when I was young. It took me a long time to lose my fear, but I'm glad to say that I've been a super keen scuba diver for years now.

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  9. Deserves a medal for conquering her fears.

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    1. When I was writing this, I felt that it would take her father's death to make her feel safe from criticism and finally allow her to learn to swim.

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  10. How sad for both of them. Unfortunately, it happens too often. Nicely told

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    1. Yes, it's something that parents should be aware of, but rarely are.

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  11. To set your own goals is what matters... I so much wishes that her father would have realized that before it was to late.

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    1. I think he was maybe too obsessed to realise. Thanks for commenting.

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  12. Dear Susan,

    It seems Daddy tried to force his daughter to fulfill his dreams. Sad tale. No winners. Good one.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    1. He messed with her confidence without realising what he was doing. At least she finally achieved something.

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  13. i'm sure he's proud of her and beaming with love and pride.

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  14. Parents can be so damaging, even if they don't mean to be.

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    1. Yes, unfortunately it seems to be a part of being human.

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  15. Your tale is too sad for words.
    Expertly done, Susan

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  16. Sometimes as adults we forget that there are steps along the way to fulfilling dreams.

    Ann

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    1. It's all too easy to project our dreams onto our children, Ann.

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  17. A sorry story in which she only started living her own life after her father had died.

    Rosey, a joke and some wine!.

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  18. I think we all strive to please our parents when we're children, but sometimes things can go too far.

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  19. Poor kid, pushed into something she didn't want to do. I'm glad she learned to swim in the end, though!

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  20. Such a tragedy to have that doubt forever! Would her father be proud of her? Nicely written, Susan!

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    1. I think she'll be fine so long as she believes she's finally done what he wanted. Thanks for commenting.

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  21. I bet Daddy was proud of her anyway. Too bad she carried that guilt and fear of disappointing her father all those years.

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    1. Yes, but I blame the father for not realising what he was doing to his daughter. Thanks for the comment.

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  22. Good questions she is asking herself. She is on the path of processing her complex relationship with her father.

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    1. Yes, hopefully she'll sort herself out now. Thanks for the feedback.

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  23. Parents should never burden their children with their own unfulfilled ambitions.

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    1. No they shouldn't, but I wonder how many see it as 'encouragement' rather than 'burdening'? Thanks for the comment, Liz.

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  24. Well said. I think this happens a lot in many ways. Good for her for conquering her fears, but how sad that she lived her life while he was still in it, thinking she didn't make him proud.

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  25. Yes, it's sad when parents make their children feel undervalued. Thanks for the comment.

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  26. Maybe he just wanted her to swim. I can sort of relate to this. My father tried teaching me swimming but unlike my sister who took to the water easily I would scream and shout. He never pressured me and in the end I started swimming myself by the time I was twelve.

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  27. No, he didn't just want her to swim. I wrote the father character as a competitive parent who got mad with her for not following his dreams. Appreciate your comments and I'm glad you overcame your own fears. :)

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  28. Replies
    1. Yes, but at least she conquered her fear of the water. Thanks for commenting.

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  29. Poignant and well told. I loved the rhythm of these two lines: "Daddy despaired and then got mad. The daughter despaired and then got sad."

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    1. Oh, that's a relief. I was a bit worried that it might sound too stylised! Thanks for the feedback.

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  30. Raising a child is such a huge responsibility. Most of us are still working through our own insecurities and 'baggage' when our children come along - I wonder how anyone manages to turn out ok. Great story - you portray your character's situation very convincingly and movingly.

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    1. I think we are all affected by our parents one way or the other. Thanks for the lovely feedback.

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  31. Looks like force worked, after all. But was that force required in the first place? Pity parents who try to impose their will and undue expectations on hapless, unwilling children. Good story

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    1. Yes, parents need to know how to encourage their children without turning them into nervous wrecks! Thanks for commenting, Neel.

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Many thanks for commenting. I appreciate your feedback.