Raising teens means a lot of training to be competent adults. This should result in being conscientious of the world around them. What I affectionately think of as the sphere of awareness. The greater the sphere, the better you’ll be able to coexist with other humans. I have realized I have very specific and absurd rules around using the doors to get in and out of the house. I’m pretty sure they are terrible to navigate as a teen.
- You should rarely use the front door unless greeting a guest
- Use the back door when you can so as not to overuse the garage
- Ignore rule 2 if it is raining so that you don’t track water
- Ignore rule 2 if it is snowing or icy so that you don’t track water or slip on the stairs
- Ignore rule 2 if it is particularly windy as the screen door could catch in the wind
- When using the garage, always close the garage behind you
- Ignore rule 6 if you will only be gone for only a few minutes
- Ignore rule 7 if it is less than 30F degrees outside regardless of time gone
- Ignore rule 7 if it is more than 90F degrees outside regardless of time gone
- Ignore rule 7 if it is dark out
- Ignore rules 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 if it is already open
- Ignore rule 11 if you think somebody else forgot to close it
- There is a good chance you will get rule 12 wrong
- Always lock the doors behind you
- Ignore rule 14 if it is the garage door to the house
- Lock the garage door to the house if it is night and you are going to bed
- Ignore rule 16 if somebody is not home yet
- Ignore rules 14, 15, 16, 17 if somebody is taking a walk
- There is a good chance you will get rule 18 wrong
- Never forget to close a door behind you
- Ignore rule 20 if you are bringing in groceries
- Ignore rule 21 if it is less than 30F degrees outside
- Ignore rule 21 if it is more than 90F degrees outside
- Open the doors with screens when it is between 58F and 78F degrees outside
- Ignore rule 24 when the HVAC system is on
Note: These rules can be overridden at any time and without notice.