"I'll have a hot dog, please."

What sort of understood "rules" did you have growing up in your family? My family was wonderful and we laugh about some of our rules. First of all, eating out was a treat that RARELY happened. When I say rarely, I mean RARELY. We were not a family that enjoyed many Big Macs, Whoppers, or soft drinks. My grandfather was so funny because you could have only 2 things at Hardee's. For example, you could have a burger and fries or a burger and a coke but you couldn't have all three. As we grew older, he apparently let my younger brother order anything he wanted as long as he ate every bite. I wasn't so lucky!

Another rule was that we did not stop in restaurants on long trips. It wasn't that we couldn't afford to eat there, it was that my parents chose not to spend their money that way. So, we would eat sandwiches and drink cokes poured out of a hot 2 liter bottle. We'd stop at roadside picnic tables and munch away. I can remember a hot, hot summer in eastern North Carolina where we pulled over and ate smashed sandwiches, chips, and hot cokes.

My parents also taught me to be a good guest. To be a good guest, there are lots of rules, and I'll elaborate on most of them in another post. My friend, Frances, often took me to lunch at the Club. My mother told me that I should always order the cheapest thing on the menu and drink water. So I did. Frances confessed last week that she just thought I LOVED hot dogs because I'd order that hot dog meal for $1.25 every.single.time. Little did she know, hot dogs were not the food of my dreams! We laughed about this over lunch with W & K. W took us to the Club here, and I was just parched for a Diet Coke. A fountain Diet Coke is a real treat. However, I knew I was not supposed to be so rude as to order a beverage. W insisted that I was no longer under my parents' roof, and that as her guest, I should order that Diet Coke!! We laughed and laughed. She was also great at insisting we order whatever we like. What a fun lunch with great friends!

So, what rules did you have as a child?