One of my weaknesses is watching television while eating. This morning, I tuned into a reality television show called Starting Over. I had read an article about one of the hosts, Rhonda Britten, and was curious to see how she helped individuals dig out from their pasts.

In this episode, Rhonda instructed one of the cast members to not speak to anyone unless what she had to say was: 1) necessary, 2) true, 3) helpful, and 4) kind.

I decided to try this activity myself. Before I did, I made up the following rhyme to help me remember the rules: Only speak what comes to mind, if it’s necessary, true, helpful, and kind.

Less than an hour after memorizing it, one of my daughters told me about a girl they knew who talked funny.

“What you said was not necessary or kind.” I told her as I patted myself on the back for a parenting job well done.

Later that day, the rhyme was a bit more difficult to call upon as I, not my daughter, needed the reminder when a gas station clerk refused to help me with an invalid car wash code. I also struggled to take my own mental medicine when Katie proved incapable of getting ready for a birthday party even though she knew we were running late.

I guess, like every war, there will be wins and losses until good triumphs over evil once and for all. For now, I’ll rhyme my way to respectable behavior, one conflict at a time.