Our Family Rules and Guidelines

At the beginning of this year, I was visiting different blogs in search of different tips, tricks, organizational tools to help our family for 2009. I found these on 2 different websites (but can't remember which ones) and adopted these for our family. They are very clear, simply stated rules or goals and guidelines for our family.

Jackson Family Responsibilities

*If you drop it, pick it up.
*If you slept in it, make it up.
*If you opened it, close it.
*If you wore it, hang it up.
*If you turned it one, turn it off when finished with it.
*If you ate or drank out of it, take it to the sink.
*If it rings, answer it.
*If it barks or meows, feed it.
*If it cries, love it.

It is easy to dodge our responsibilities but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.

Family Goals

*I will keep my promises.
*I will not make excuses.
*I will do all my work to the best of my ability.
*I will make things right when I do wrong.
*I will know my duty and do my duty.

In thinking about this more, I think I got these off some homeschooling blogs or websites. I instantly liked these and adopted them for our family. But we all know that children read and see things differently than adults do sometimes. Amy's reaction after reading all these was to exclaim excitedly....We are getting a cat! What?....she read the *If it barks or meows, feed it. Nope, we got 2 dogs, not getting a cat. Then to further clarify, just so there was not misunderstanding..we aren't getting a baby either.

Now, just so I don't get any angry comments about denying my daughter the right to own a cat a little explanation is in order.....when Greg and I were children we lived next door to each other. Behind us lived the "crazy cat lady" Sarah. Sarah has hundreds of cats (not much of an exaggeration). These cats were everywhere...my sandbox in the backyard, walking the fence taunting Greg's dog, etc. Mom sent me over to Sarah's for something one day and when she opened the carport door for me, there were cats everywhere...her kitchen counters, table, laying all over the floor, climbing the curtains, etc. So we don't have any fond cat memories. Now there is a cat that lives across the street from us whose favorite yard is not her own. She loves to walk our fence and taunt Mack & Hershey and her favorite lounging/sleeping spot is the black roof of Greg's convertible. I will not be held accountable if that cat gets attacked in my yard by my dogs (I saved her once from certain destruction when she was a kitten, so she should have learned her lesson but it didn't take her long to come back to the yard). Shouldn't there be leash laws for cats?

Miss Amy came along and has been an animal lover since the beginning. She loves all animals. She may have a cat when she has her own home. Right now, she will have to settle for loving her "Build A Bear" cats and visiting Miss Amy in Georgia and playing with her kittens!