Last night we let the boys stay up late and watch a movie and then sleep together on the top bunk. That is considered really living it up around here. We thought the kids were having the time of their lives. However, Bennett informed us this morning at breakfast that things weren’t all a bed of roses. The first words when we greeted us were:
“I don’t like sleeping with Gavin too much because he has too many rules”.
“Oh really” we answer, “Like what?”
He then begins to spout off the list as if they had been pounded into his head one too many times by an over zealous older brother. The ‘Sleeping With Gavin Rules’ are as follows (Bennett’s version, that is):
Don’t move your feet so much
Keep your blanket to yourself
Don’t wiggle around so much (but he can wiggle around)
Don’t read your books too much
An interesting list, indeed. Gavin definitely likes rules and likes to make sure that everyone around him appreciates them as whole-heartedly as he does. So, when Gavin came down to breakfast, we asked him if it was true; that he was following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a ‘Rule Nazi’. (Chuck is lovingly nicknamed the ‘Game Nazi’ for his zealous pursuit on ensuring each game player follows the game rules precisely). Chuck asked Gavin, “Bennett was telling us you had a lot of rules for him last night, is that right?” To which Gavin nonchalantly replies, “Only four.” Gavin was more than happy to share his version of the rules with us. They are as follows:
I get on the bunk bed first
He can’t touch me
He needs to act like he’s in his own bed
Keep your blanket to yourself
I’m seeing a slight gap in how Gavin issued the rules and how Bennett interpreted the rules. I’m not one to argue that there must be rules for engagement in most important areas of life (i.e., military, government, corporations, and of course, sharing a bed with your brother ranks right up there). I’m thinking maybe we need to keep the bed sharing to a minimum in the future. The last thing we need is for Gavin to find a need to come up with any more rules and to give Bennett a reason to find a rule to break.
