Week 2- Family Rules

This week in class we talked a little bit about the unspoken rules and boundaries that exist in families. As I reflected on this, I realized how much these unspoken rules affect us. In my family we had many unspoken rules, boundaries that you just didn't cross.

1. Respect and obey Gram (the matriarch and more importantly, the pie maker of the family), your parents, and the other adults in the family.
2. Never complain about a meal prepared for you, especially if there's pie afterwards. Everything is always good, anyways (well, a hot dog pizza is the exception).
3. Never sit back while others are working- especially if the cows or turkeys are out. No one can sit that out, even gram is out there helping (usually against everyone's advise, but she's out there)
4. Never sit down when there is work to be done.
5. Hug Gram when you walk in.
6. Never call your parent's by their first name.
7. The cousins will always be called my nicknames, except the youngest. (Miss, Mar, Court, K(or KK), Log, Curt, Mandy, and Jacob-the exception to the rule)-It's just weird when I get called by my full name, I feel like I must have done something wrong.
8. Always laugh at everybody's jokes, especially Dad's, even if it's just a pity laugh.
9. Always say hello when you come through the door.
10. Always stand and walk out guests and family (extended) leaving your house.
*11. When Gramps was still alive, you just NEVER mentioned the county. In fact, we still don't mention Politics to my dad.

These are just a few of the more obvious rules unspoken in my family, but whenever someone breaks one of those rules, the whole family (especially the kids) cringe and wait for the backlash.