The Second Agreement

Some years ago, I read a brief and wonderful book called The Four Agreements.


The four agreements, made even shorter, are these:


Be Impeccable With Your Words
Don't Take Anything Personally
Don't Make Assumptions
Always Do Your Best


**
This week, I started reading To Kill A Mockingbird. 


A conversation between 8 year old sister Scout and 12 year old brother Jem:

"Scout, don't let Aunty aggravate you."

It seemed only yesterday that he was telling me not to aggravate Aunty.

"You know she's not used to girls," Jem said, "leastways, not girls like you.  She's trying to make you a lady.  Can't you take up sewin' or somethin'?"

"Hell no.  She doesn't like me, that's all there is to it, and I don't care."

She may not be impeccable with her words, but Scout lives by the 2nd Agreement. 

The Only Baby Book You'll Ever Need

My little sister is going to have a baby any minute! 


She has brought 2 lovely little people into the world, and she has high hopes for this 3rd little person. 
Rather, one high hope: that this little person will sleep. 


In honor of the fact that at a certain point of parenthood, you throw the book against the wall (if you are reading a parenting book)  (mine was the one that had sleep schedules and the acronym EASY, which stood for Eat, Activity, Sleep, and I forget what the Y stood for...yurts, or yaks, or Yemen or Yugoslavia or something), I am posting this fascinating little opinion piece titled


The Only Baby Book You'll Ever Need, by Michael Erard


Just because.  Read it.  You'll see what I mean.