Juliet's Rules

I like rules.

I should clarify. I like MY rules. Nobody else's.

I've developed a whole lot of rules over the last forty-seven years of life (actually, I guess more like the last thirty-four years or so, only after I started sloughing off those offered to me by my loving, well-meaning, rule-bound parents.)

Some of my rules are quite prosaic: always put your phone charger cord back in the same place or you WILL lose it; never call a younger man "adorable", especially when he's asking you on a date ; shells and detritus from a seafood dinner MUST go in the outside trash before bed....

But others are less so. Below are a few rules I try to live by:

(Disclaimer: *I apologize in advance for inadvertently and blatantly stealing from inspirational ditties, childhood poems, and particularly effective T-shirt slogans*)


1. If there's any way to enjoy what you're doing, enjoy it to the fullest

2. Don't make excuses for remaining miserable


3. Do something that scares you, every single day...or at least every week

4. Smile

5. Always remember everything you have received,
but forget what you have given to others

6. Take naps (even better with a friend)

7. Don't offer advice unless it's asked for...and even then, dole it out in a miserly fashion


8. Enjoy cocktails with friends every chance you get
(in costume whenever possible)

9. Don't wish things away; you might miss them when they're gone

10. Be kind whenever possible; then go bitch to your closest friends

11. Make art, fully in the knowledge that no artist is ever truly pleased

12. Make plans, but understand that few plans will ever come to fruition
(nor should they)

13. Trust in the Fates. They may be old and ugly, but they've got your back.