4 Simple Rules

In the years before our marriage, my wife and I developed rules for coping with various situations we encountered. These rules have been very finely crafted so to cover as many problems as possible and the fact they endear to this day stands as a testimony to their power and effectiveness. Now through 5 years of marriage, a child and all the other assorted maturing we've done, the rules still work. So I share them with you. Here they are in the order they were needed and created.

Rule #1 Wear comfortable shoes. Sometimes we tend to wear shoes that look good and make us feel good about ourselves. And there is no problem at all with this philosophy...for the first 2 hours. Anything beyond that and the mood tends to shift toward the bad side of town. But if comfortable shoes are worn, you stay happy all day long. Why was this rule created? Three inch heals worn at an outdoor car show. Nuff said.

Rule #2 Eat what you like. Yes there is healthy food, and there is tasty food. However there is no reason that healthy food can't taste good. Since food is required, taste should be the most important thing. Obviously, if the choices are limited, you eat what you have, but if you have the choice, arrange the ingredients in such a way that you make those involuntary MMMMMmmmmm noises. Why was this rule created? A meal that was perfectly healthy but impossible to get past the tongue. How healthy is it really if you can't convince your body to swallow it?

Rule #3 No Freaking Out. This is pretty self explanatory. Frequently we as a society tend to complain, whine, and indulge in armchair outcries about the injustices of the world. No, things aren't fair. Yes, things should be changed. But why complain unless you are going to make a plan to fix it? Life comes at you pretty fast and you need to have the right combination of humor and situational agility. There is not enough time to lose your wits when there is a crisis. Why was this rule created? A doctors appointment where we expected to hear very scary news.

Rule #4. Rule #4 is very special to us. We are bound tightly by this rule and frequently have to remind each other when we are about to break this important and agreed upon rule for our lives. This rule was created right before our first child was born while she was still pregnant and it helped guide us through the entire delivery process. Unfortunately, as important as this rule is, neither one of us can remember what it is. We should have written it down. Maybe that's what it was? Whenever we are told we are about to break this important rule, we stop doing whatever it is that bothers the other person and life is happy again.

These rules may sound unconventional, but they consistently get us through many situations. With a small set of the correct tools, you can build and fix many wonderful things.