I’m not very good at Pinterest. I go for days without pinning a single thing. It’s one of those things that I have to schedule time for, or I won’t do it. Of course, I know a lot of you wish you spent less time on Pinterest (don’t worry, I fall prey to my own array of time-suckers) and are wondering why in the world I would even bother to put reminders in my phone to use it.

Answer: because it helps my blog, so I feel like I should do it. When I pin things, people are more likely to follow me. And when people follow me, they are more likely to find my blog. Ergo, I must pin things.

I could write an entire post on how Pinterest is arguably the single most dangerous online invention for women, since it feeds our already robust tendencies to compare, covet, and complain. And there’s another C—contentment—that Pinterest can be very bad for indeed. But that’s a post all its own. And of course, when I want inspiration or ideas, Pinterest is fan-flippin’-tastic. Which is why I sometimes suddenly flood your feed with pictures of dreamy, twinkle-lit patio spaces or green laces dresses or…you get the idea.

Which brings me to what I really wanted to talk about today. Because even I—as unPinteresting as I am (yes, I went there)—pretty much can’t get on there without seeing yet another round of adorable, warm, and fuzzy Family Rules popping up in all their colorful, beautifully lettered subway art glory.

Something a little like this, maybe?

happy subway art

(I just bought that one at Marshall’s because I loved the colors; I’m still trying to decide whether to keep it; thoughts?)

It sounds and looks so amazing, and most of them are more or less true. So, that’s…good…right?

But then, the day after I bought that one, I read Kristen’s post about their “real family rules” over at We Are That Family. And it made me laugh and nod my head…

…and come up with 5 *real* family rules of my own:

the real family rules 2

I could have kept going for sure. Runners up included:

We cherish every moment, especially the multitude of moments we spend touching every germ-infested surface in the bathroom at Goodwill (eeeew).  

and

We are patient. Most of the time. (And by most of the time, we mean every second Tuesday between 4 and 8 PM. If we are not hungry…or is it hangry?)

and

We never give up. Unless something is hard. And then we declare, “I can’t do this!” and stomp off (and no, I’m not necessarily just talking about the kids).

So, that’s us. But I suspect that we are not the only family who doesn’t fit the warm and fuzzy Family Rules mold.

Care to share some of your REAL family rules? I’d be ever so grateful.

P.S. I do pin things every now and then if you want to follow along. I apologize ahead of time for bombarding you with cheesecake pins when I get a craving.

17 Comments

  1. this is definitely some much needed humor. I do think the first writer was too hard on herself. Obviously, she did a lot right to have daughters that are good mothers to her grand(reward)children. Quite frankly, don’t we all have some experiences and wonder where their mothers’ are hiding.

    re Pinterest reminders for yourself–what would you call someone who is not sure how to be on Instagram?? do I have the wrong phone or what ???

    1. Do you have a smart phone? I’m not sure it works with older phones. But I’m definitely not the most tech-savvy person to ask for sure. I’m not entirely sure how you would use instagram without a touch screen, so maybe that’s the problem?

      Sorry I can’t help more! 🙁

  2. this may be my most favorite post from you ever!!!!! So sweetly honest and funny, without being degrading or negative…truly one I can identify with!!!! It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the signs and pinterest and facebook posts, proclaiming love, and patience and perfection…as if anyone honestly lives that way!!! I am SO with you…for me, the contrast is always when I’m trying to correct my brood with the fruits of the spirit, and I’m yelling them “YOU NEED TO SHOW LOVE!!!!…JOY!!!!…PEACE!!!!…” and then I get to patience and the Holy Spirit taps me on the shoulder (or I fear the windows are open) and I get all sweet and gentle…”Patience, kindness, goodness…” You get the idea…just one of the classic moments I so regularly live!!!

    Can’t wait to hear some other “real” family comments 😉

  3. LOL!!! This post cracked me up! Thanks for the giggle 🙂 I can sooooo relate……
    How about “We do second chances…..and thirds & fourths cuz sometimes momma is just too tired to discipline”
    “We always have fun……except when we are fighting like crazed monkeys”
    “We make mistakes…..and they are always one of the other siblings fault”
    “We play hard…..and put various & assorted “treasures” in our pockets during such play for mom to wash….even dead salamanders (yep, true story!)”

    I’m loving Julie’s comment…..men-children….ahhhh! Always providing lots of laughter + a dose of frustration 🙂

    1. Great post, Kelli, and oh-so-true! I fall prey to that green-eyed monster all to often myself.

      And YES to the sudden need for a drink when it’s time to do schoolwork (or clean). Such a huge coincidence.

  4. OMG snort laughing and nodding my head like an idiot, alone in my office!

    My personal favorite is ‘We are Respectful…unless someone is talking or trying to pee alone.’

    Also, ‘We hug frequently, MMA-style, until someone cries.’

    The truth shall set you free…while getting your bro in deep doo-doo.

    I live in a house full of men-children, so a closed door is like an invitation, they don’t know what the toilet seat or toilet paper is for, and handwashing consists of turning on the water, staring at it for a sec, then turning it off and leaving without flushing. A phone call is their cue to scream like banshees, antagonize the crap out of each other, and just generally annoy the crap out of me and the poor person I’m trying to speak to. Unless that person is a telemarketer, in which case I just quietly leave the phone on the table to better amplify the cacophany.

  5. When I was a young woman with young children, I’d find similar sayings/axioms/items and would put them on the fridge door. That way I’d see them daily and hopefully take them to heart. Now there is just one: “I wish I could have had grandchildren first.” Which says my generation of parents were so busy making sure the kids were clean, polite and well taken care of, we didn’t have time to really enjoy them. I’m afraid I missed a lot. And it makes me wonder how my daughters became such good mothers.

    1. I bet you’re being too hard on yourself. It sounds like you worked really hard to take care of your daughters, and they turned out well. But it is a good reminder to focus on the things that matter rather than getting caught up in the details.

I love hearing from you guys!