Rules to Live By by Rebecca Wells

The novel "The Crowning Glory of Cally Lily Ponder" follows a woman's life from her childhood in LA to her marriage to her childhood sweetheart many years later. Calla Lily's mother dies in the novel and before she dies she creates the rules of life for her children, soon motherless.

The Rules of Life

1. Sleep with the windows open (window screens are fine if necessary)

2. Whistle in the dark. Attempts at whistling are good enough

3. Good enough is good enough. Perfect will make you a big fat mess every time.

4. Sing anytime you feel like it, and even more when you don’t feel like it. This does not mean in math class. Silent singing is good, and try to sing out loud at least once a day.

5. Am I going to have to haunt y’all to keep everybody laughing? If I have to, you know I will.

6. New visitors are going to come join y’all. Welcome them with open arms.

7. Make new friends, keep the old ones. Get a new dog or cat as soon as you can, and always let one keep you.

8. Let love slip underneath closed doors, through tiny cracks in the wall, through your pores.

9. Remember: Y’all are so dear; each and every one of you makes it so easy to love you, as if anybody needed a reason.

10. Don’t push the La Luna (a river). You do not push a river.

11. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT wash my seasoned cast iron skillet in soapy water. It must simply be wiped clean with an oiled paper towel. We must respect things tht help bring us good food from Mother Earth-wherever we live.

12. Most important of all: KEEP ON DANCING. Dance while you brush your teeth, dance when the sun shines, and dance under the moon. Oh, please be sure to dance in the light, dance in the streets. When life is happy, dance in the kitchen; when life is the roughest, dance in the kitchen. My dear holy family, dance for the good of the world.


From The Crowning Glory of Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells.