Dorothy's Not Dead

When I moved into my first apartment, alone, far from my parents, my dad wrote out and framed16 rules to live by.  I came across them today while cleaning out my closet.  It's a good list, and it's funny.

1. Work hard, but work smart.  You make money with your brains, not your hands, but never be afraid to sweat (a lot).
2. Always love your family, be close to your spouse, work hard at your relationships and tell your children you love them (often).
3. Always tell the truth.
4. If you get cold, put a sweater on.  If you get hot, take it off.
5. If you get hungry, eat.
6. Never give up.  Make sure your dreams are just beyond your grasp, follow your dreams, and dream big.
7. Remember birthdays and anniversaries.
8. Save your money.
9. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without (this is an old piece of advice, but good to remember).
10. Be happy and don't take your problems to work.
11. You are a very capable and powerful person, be proud of who and what you are.
12. Be kind & considerate of others, but don't let others harm you or walk all over you.
13. Be organized.  Lead, follow, or get out of the way!
14. It's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission.
15. Semper in Excretum, Solum Profundum Variat (this is fake Latin for "Always in shit, only the depth varies").
16. Halloween is the best holiday of the year (Boo!)
    

I never realized how much my dad apparently likes parentheses.  Anyway, that's that.  It's pretty straight forward and it's come in handy more than once in my life.