What Rule are You Ready to Boot?

I’m a big believer in breaking the rules.  Now, I’m not talking about the rules that say you have to drive a certain speed or anything like that.  I follow those rules.  I’m talking about the rules in my mind.  These are rules that tell me I must act a certain way or do certain things so people will think I’m “good” or “nice.”

I reflected on one particular rule recently as I met some soon-to-be new neighbors.  While we chatted in front of their new property, my youngest daughter Kolbi drove up.  I introduced Kolbi to them and shared a little bit about her.

I felt myself grinning from ear-to-ear as I reminisced about Kolbi when she was in junior high.  Kolbi was our nightly dinner entertainment.  She’d eat for a few minutes and then jump up from her seat saying, “Mom, watch this!  Dad, look what I can do!”  She would then proceed to show us all of her new dance moves.  Just thinking about this as I write makes me laugh again.

Dinnertime was a time of laughter, conversation, and in Kolbi’s case, performance time.  It was as if we had our own personal entertainment. Think of the money we saved all those years watching Kolbi instead of going out to some boring dinner theatre!

I’m so thankful that our family didn’t follow any set rules when it came to mealtimes at home. Of course, when we went out to dinner the kids knew they had to follow some rules, especially the one that said they had to stay in their seats.  They had no problem with this.  However, at home, the old rule that says you have to be a perfect kid at the dinner table went out the window.  Yeah!  What memories we’ll have for a lifetime!

What rules are you ready to boot out the door?  Is there a rule in your family that doesn’t ring true anymore?  Are you ready to have a little more freedom and fill your home with laughter and fun, creating wonderful memories that will last a lifetime?

A good guidepost to tell you where you’re ready to be free is by listening to your feelings.  The next time you feel you NEED to follow a rule, check in with yourself and see if this is something that is true for you, or is it a belief that you took on since childhood?  So often we continue the mental conditioning that’s been handed down from generation to generation, never realizing what we’re doing.  But when you check in with yourself and get to know what’s true for you, you might see yourself throwing out some of the rules!