Merry and Bright.

Not just a holiday greeting, but my general disposition after a long overdue getaway with my husband. When we have gotten time without the children, its usually a day added onto a work trip. This adventure was purely for fun with our in real life friends who also know DD is the trick to a happy marriage.  We're (mostly) normal people, so our trip looked like most kid-free trips: restaurants, shopping, adult beverage tastings, leisurely schedules that didn't revolve around nap time, etc.

Submitting felt easy. Without the responsibilities of daily life pulling me in multiple directions, following Dominic just happened. If you're wanting your HOH to take leading more seriously, don't fight them when they do lead. We just had a fun, relaxing time. My only regret is not ordering dessert on our last night. I'm still day dreaming about how amazing this cobbler would have been.

It's a relaxing, fun time when you're with people who know "how you work" and they operate like that too. We enjoy spending time with them and have plenty of things to discuss beyond similar handling of sass. That said, when your friend is also in the Spanked Wives Club, it's not awkward to make a beeline for the softer padded bench at a restaurant. It's freeing to be able to say out loud why you are so, so sore. Shopping with husbands isn't even stressful when you both know which lines shouldn't be crossed.

That doesn't mean I wasn't petrified they'd overhear some of our "discussions." Dominic and I had a great time connecting and laughing without worrying about waking our children. Lots of sex, lots of spanking. I found myself over his knee for sass he'd normally have shot me a warning look for. I was even more surprised when after this spanking, he questioned me about my general view on our dynamic and my consideration for submission in my daily life. The pretty wooden blinds in our room unfortunately came with a heavy wooden tilt wand. The wand easily slid off and on its hook during our stay. It was first used to address infractions neither one of us had thought about in the past month or so. That was a surprising spanking. I did fuss a little about it the next morning, probably because I was expecting a reminder and he instead delivered a message: You Will Remember How Important This Rule Is.

This trip was definitely the most spankings I've ever received in that time frame. It's also the calmest and most settled I can remember feeling, probably ever.  I didn't have to cook, I ate more than I've eaten in months, and I SLEPT.

So imagine Dominic's shock when I was sulking and sassy within 24 hours of arriving home. In my defense, we arrived home in the midst of Christmas season to kids school events, childcare hiccups, back to our jobs, hiccups with our house sitter and a broken dryer, etc... He knew I was stressed and also knew how well I had responded to him just a few short days ago. I was starting to come down with a sinus infection and should have answered honestly when he asked if I was too tired to discuss my grumpy attitude. I hated to not submit though. Because I thought submitting was taking the spanking I knew I needed. Submitting was answering his question honestly though. He bent me over the couch and started lecturing about my attitude and I just got grumpier. I flinched and kicked with each smack of his hand. Growing even more frustrated, Dominic upped the severity then stopped. He saw the fatigue on my face and said we needed to go to bed. I had been fighting so hard to relax, angry with myself for being so wound up, missing the easy going dynamic of our time away. When he stopped, it felt like I'd failed. Naturally, I stomped to bed in a huff. I threw my clothes off and made a big production of flopping into bed. Dominic stood over me and asked what in the hell my fit was about. My pride and butt hurt so I fumed. When Dominic started talking, he didn't throw my attitude and smart mouth back in my face, he told me how much he loved our time away and was shell shocked that I went away so quickly. Referring to our trip, he said "You were submissive."

And now I wasn't, despite my apparently crappy efforts. So I cried while he held me and then I slept.

Sleep is glorious. Sleep is always the right option when spanking can't fix the problem.

I apologized the next day and told him that yes, I did need held accountable for my crappy attitude. He met me at home for lunch and gave me one hell of a spanking. The spanking was 100% more severe than any of the brief spanking from the night before but I didn't kick or flinch. The stronger spanks from his belt had me jumping and wiggling, but submitting to him felt right. Intense spankings always bring intense sex. The sex following is an extension of his dominance. Without going into great detail, submissive positions and acts that push me into a submissive headspace send just as powerful as a message as the spanking. The erotic connection after drives home that I'm his. The spanking may have been triggered on by an infraction on my part, but he's spanking me because I chose this. I chose him. And because I choose this life with him, I'm his.

When rules get broken here, it's because I'm disconnected from him. The stress of life gets in the way and I choose to handle things on my own or let anxiety take root in my brain. I choose to not go to him and share the soft emotions when they first hit. Disappointment or hurt by family members, needing help with time management or prioritizing commitments. When I let those things fester in my head, the end result is always a grumpy disposition. I know punishment + sex is handled many different ways in our diverse dynamics. In our relationship, they go hand in hand. I have an intense personality and Dominic coaxes the best of me to the surface when he gives me a physical connection to knowing he's got my back, is strong enough to handle whatever comes our way, and he's connected to me on a deep, humbling level in spite of my sometimes interesting attitude.

The Freshly Spanked buzz is my favorite kind of high.