Ahhhh, well…This story starts out nicely and develops into a nostalgic look at the narrator's childhood, although the transition from her being repulsed by the spankings her spanking diary details to sentimentalizing them seems rather sudden to me–but likely the positive feelings were there all along and had been supressed until she starting reading about her girlhood chastisements.

The ending seems unclear and inconclusive to me though. Did the narrator intend to begin a spanking regimen with her own "hellions," so she showed them her childhood punishment journal to introduce that concept? Or was it meant merely to show her children that things were different (and possibly better) during her own childhood? Or was it a not-too-subtle threat to begin a spanking regimen if the kids' "wild" behavior didn't improve?

On the technical side, quotation marks are needed to indicate direct speech where the narrator addressed her children. Some of the description in the diary, notably that of the penmanship of the narrator as a teenaged girl, struck me as quite accurate and a nice touch.

I will question that the story meets the category rules.  I thought the first line has to be "It was a pleasure to burn PERIOD."  The author has expanded the first line.  Then there is the issue that the first line describes the diary being burnt, but after that it is being read by the heroine, and then read to her children.

But the story is good and has an interesting ending.

This story caused me to reflect upon its meaning for a time after reading. I'm not quite sure whether I'm captivated or vaguely disturbed by this tale. The idea of a childhood spanking diary complete with pictures… sounds especially sad to me.  That said, I thought the writing was great and the author might have intended for the reader to feel a mix of emotions similar to those I experienced.

I enjoyed the flashbacks that were woven into the piece as the character remembered her past.  The details such as the crayon printing and the later teen-aged writing with hearts made the character's growth seem more real to me.  I also liked the way in which the diary stories were related to the present-day situation with the woman's own children.  I felt it created a piece that had texture and events that fit together well.

The use of the words "love and guidance" at the end kind of implied that the woman appreciated her parents disciplined at the same time that she resented it.  It was a little confusing to me because the beginning line had been so forceful, almost angry, and by the end she seemed to have softened slightly. I can't be sure whether or not she thinks her parents did something right with her and maybe she should apply their methods to her own family.  The piece left me wanting to read more because I'm curious to know if the book had an impact on her children.

I loved the idea of a photo diary of punishments.  We are not told why the house-clearance was taking place, but generally that sort of thing happens after a death, and the diary gave a focus to past memories without being maudlin.

The author handled the transition quite nicely from wanting to burn the diary to realising there was something of merit there which was still pertinent to her current life.

I do have a couple of quibbles - the first line is in the present tense, which indicates that the burning of the book is actually taking place, whereas in reality it's anticpatory.

Also the last paragraph lacks quotation marks around "Kids I want to show you something"

Using the diary as a vehicle, the author was able to revisit not only a couple of childhood spankings but also the memory of her own mother guiding her hand to write, which I thought was a lovely touch.

I think the author did well to pack so much into such a limited space, but I also think the story would be better served in a longer format, that way the reader could have more of the childhood memories and also find out what happens with the three little hellions.