PMS is NOT an excuse...

for bad behavior I keep saying to my daughters.

Here's the situation at my home. Please hear me out if you are a man because it does have something for you too if you happen to be the father of a daughter.

My husband Mike and I have three girls. Two of them, Sara and Lauren, are teenage girls now and things have changed around here since they started, a-hem, menstruating.

I actually feel sorry for my husband because last month for the first time, all three of us "had the red flag flying" (our family moniker for it) at the same time! It was tough on him. Don't you just feel his pain?

We felt it necessary to lay down some grounds rules for behavior during the "time of the month".

Here they are:
1. Just because you are PMSing does not give you the right to behave badly. (I'm included in that too). Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. We sometimes use PMS as an excuse to talk nasty or snippy. We are trying, hear that, trying not to let our hormones influence our behavior.
2. Recognize the signs. They are there. Sometimes my girls don't know why they feel the way they do until we look at the calendar and see that it is almost "time". Maybe they could just lock themselves in their rooms until whatever "drama" has passed? That way nothing stupid is said. Helps keep the peace.
3. Give Dad some consideration. It's tough living with all women. Let me clue you in. On our last family vacation we went to Florida. All our girls wanted to do was shop and he wanted to fish. Sara and I actually like to fish and we were going to go but then it rained. So he never had a chance because it was time for us to go home. He left really missing the testosterone. If the girls remember that, they will hopefully be better wives.

The Lord had a purpose in giving my husband three daughters. Don't yet know why except to say it has made my husband more sensitive. And for some reason he will have to wait for son-in laws and grandsons instead.

Incidentally, this is the only other boy in our house, besides Mike:


My boy Chip. Isn't he so cute?