The Rules

We had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the lake with our church this summer. We were blessed to share a camping area with our friends the McBrooms who were also gracious enough to share their boat and jet ski as well. The first day in the boat, April sat the kids down and said she needed to go over the rules. I was all set to hear about water safety and the rules for the boat. In addition to what I expected, April shared the three rules that our friend Ronay had once jokingly come up with. They are:

1. Smile
2. Act like you want to be here
3. Speak when spoken to

To my surprise, the kids took them very seriously and when they were referred to throughout the weekend, attitudes seemed to change. That Sunday we mused that Ronay had a definite beginning for a book and we'd have to travel around "testing" the rules. We all offered to be collaborators on the project.

I've thought about them a lot.I even enacted them on some junior high girls at the Happy Days dance. (they at least started smiling) They've even come in handy a time or two with the family. If everyone would make an attempt to follow "the rules" life would be much more pleasant.

Just a thought.