Unwritten rules

I have a list of unwritten rules. You know how some people go by the whole "Don't wear white after labor day" thing or "Don't speak to me until I've had my morning coffee."? That kind of rule. Rules that you realize that even though no one will actually die if they are broken, things will go much smoother if they are kept. Well this morning someone broke one of my rules. Not just any rule, but one of the top ones. They broke the 'do not call me before 10 a.m or after 10 p.m rule'. Silly rule you say? Well there are two good reasons why this rule is in place.

1. Nothing good has ever come from a phone call after 10:00 p.m. When my brother died I got the phone call at 10:00. When a friends daughter died earlier this year the phone call came just a few minutes after 10:00. See the pattern? Phone calls after 10:00 = something bad has happened.
2. When my phone rings before 10:00 a.m. it's usually not a good thing because a) my husband just got to work and realized he locked his keys in the car (in other words I've got to go across town to open his car door). b) the school is calling to tell me something is wrong with one of the kids. c) it's my mother in law.

Everyone that knows me knows about this rule of mine. My family loves to tease me about it, especially my mom. It's taken her awhile, but she's finally figured out why she always gets the answering machine in the mornings and will usually leave a message asking me to call her after 10:00. Apparently though someone from the N.R.A. did not get the memo. Yes, that's right the N freaking R A that has been calling my house for months now. The same N.R.A group that will not say anything when I answer the phone. The same N.R.A group that when someone did finally speak when I answered rudely informed me that no, they would not leave a message for my husband they would call back later. Yes, these people had the nerve to call my house this morning before 8:00 only to not even come on the line when I picked up. We don't even own guns, nor do we plan to ever own any. Needless to say Mommy aint happy.