I’m no genius. I’m not the best at anything I do and as my recent foot races point out I can be the worst at a few things. Still I find some solace in simplicity of reasoning and my lifestyle. This blog post was spurred to life like some zombie horseman of the apocalypse by watching my kids in a restaurant and other peoples kids. It isn’t about being judgmental just answering the question the waitress asked, “Why are your kids so well behaved?”
The answer likely revolves around the fact we only have four rules in our house. We don’t look to external entities to tell us what to do, and our rules are few.
1. Make mom happy
2. Take care of the family
3. Take care of yourself
4. Take care of the community
Some will argue with those rules and the order. Still the construction of them is very important. Some will argue “God, country, mom and apple pie!” but they can pound sand. How well that been working for society so far? Our rules are predicated on “if mom ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy”. Thankfully to the recent spate of conservative punditry espousing the horror of women’s freedom I’ve gotten to experience externalities of mom not being happy. Thanks Rush. In general making mom happy is a guiding principle of if you don’t want her to know about it then likely it ain’t a good idea. Rather than the standard “let’s hide it from her” which seems to be the action of the many today.
If the family unit is not in good repair the individual cannot succeed is a simplistic statement. Yet there is something there about knowing that there is somebody and something that is greater than yourself. The family unit is greater than the sum of the parts. If all entities understand it isn’t about them but each other. Similarly a society that accepts the devolving and destruction of the family unit will also not be whole and successful. I know that sounds awful conservative but chocolate chip cookies aren’t all chips and no cookie.
So why do my kids behave? I don’t know, but thanks for asking.
There is a fifth rule, but we live it daily.
5. Have fun!