Girlz Rulz: Wisdom to Live By
During the times when my sons are with me here in Texas there is a reoccurring cycle of adjustment that takes place between them and my stepdaughters. It starts off with a getting reacquainted sort of honeymoon period. This lasts until anywhere from halfway during our car ride home after picking the boys up to maybe the first couple days after getting back into town. From this point it's a good week of on-again, off-again spats and truces that finally deteriorates into a situation, the dynamics of which resemble that of the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
"She was in our room!"
"He took my pillow pet!"
And so forth, and so forth. Next thing you know it's rocket attacks and the sounds of jets overhead (proverbially, of course). This summer, the girls decided they were going to take a hard-line stance and lay down some clear boundaries should anyone dare cross the boarder into their room.
As you will see, they were difficult to ignore, for a few reasons.
1. Girls can see girls (Re: when getting dressed or in the bathroom)
2. Only girls can tell secrets
3. No bossing people around
4. No jumping on bed
5. You must have a pass to get in
6. Have fun
To the girls' dismay, however, these rules proved inadequate in specifically addressing a few averse circumstances, and thus were soon revised...
1. No shirtless boys
2. No disgusting things
3. Shoes off
4. If a boy wants to come in he must pay $1
5. Knock
6. If you make a mess, clean it up
7. No messing with the frog or crickets
8. [Listen] if a girl tells you to
9. No excuses
10. No ruining collections (In reference to the girls' Littlest Pet Shop dioramas)
And then a VIP list was created, granting access to a select few girls from the neighborhood, and Sawyer, the lone boy among the elite. Unlike the previous edicts, this one came with clear consequences...
Warning / Caution: If you are a boy then screw it! If a boy comes in, girls will dress you up like a princess with makeup and perfume
Yes, "screw it" indeed. (Kiss your mother with that mouth?) By this you can tell the girls had difficulty enforcing their self-imposed guidelines. Eventually, though, it didn't matter much as the step-siblings entered the final cycle of adjustment--a three or four day period when they all get along and lament that their summer together is over.
As for the "Girlz Rulz," with the balanced mix of wisdom for living, respect for others, and healthy feminist, anti-shirtless boy undertones, I think we'll keep those around until--oh, I don't know--after they move out.
