The Non-Negotiables

I never thought of myself as a particularly rigid or principled person.  On politics, I can swing right or left depending on the issue.  Judaism seems just as good a religion to me as Catholicism.  I like both the Chicago White Sox and the Cubs. 

When you take a look at the big picture, I suppose I appear rather wishy-washy.  Middle-of-the-road.  Spineless even.  A rebel without a cause.

Not so fast.

I've put together a handy list of things I stand firm on. Non-negotiable aspects of my life. Things that torture or bribery couldn't alter.   So without further ado, here are just a few of the big ones that define who I am as a person:

  

• I will never participate in a water birth.
• I will never judge or blame another mother for spanking her child in the mall parking lot.
• I will never ask my family to purchase over-priced wrapping paper for a school fundraiser.
• I will have done my job properly when my adult sons stand up when a lady enters a room instead of waving from the couch.
• Thank you notes are mandatory.
• I believe instant oatmeal counts as cooking.
• I think having a couple really good friends is more important than having 2,000 Facebook Friends.
• I think it's perfectly acceptable to walk away from people who drain you.  Or who don't send thank you notes.
• I can be draining, and I sometimes forget the thank you notes.
• The key to marriage is a partner who remembers the good, forgets the bad, and thinks you're still decent looking after 3 kids with a stomach that resembles Hiroshima.

I had some foggy notion about the Alamo as a methaphor for marriage, but my cold medicine kicked in.  I'll leave the analogies to you then.

So there you have it.  What are your non-negotiables?