3 Rules......

Growing up, my folks had three rules for me about fighting.

1) Don't start the fight.
2) Know the reason why you are fighting. Always keep in mind that there is nothing someone can say about you, or those you care about, that is worth putting your hands on them. Words are just words until your actions prove them true.
3) But, once the fight begins, finish it.

I know it's avant-garde these days to tell kids that violence is never the answer. However, as adults, you and I know that is simply not true. Though violence should not be the first resort, and we must teach our children that words can in fact be ignored, there is a very definite time when the answer to violence is violence. Whether you rise to meet that violent threat personally, or you call the men with a badge and a gun to meet that violent threat for you, the answer is the same. Teaching our children that it is somehow more noble to be a victim than a survivor is not only a tragedy, but a great travesty. As parents, we are responsible for the lives given into our care. That includes teaching our children how to protect and defend themselves when we are not there to do it for them. Anything less than that is neglect.

So, my children will grow up with the same three rules I had.

The same three rules I live by today.

Don't go looking for a fight, the only thing worth fighting over is protection of life, and, at the end of the day, do whatever is necessary to go home to those who need you.

-Rebecca Schmoe 1MMAGC Mom