If I only knew then what I know now

How many times have you said that?  Hindsight is always 20/20, right? How many of you are like me and come to that painful realization of the older I get the wiser my parents become?

I can’t count the times I’ve thought If I only knew then what I know now – things would have been a complete 180 from what they are now.

With four teenagers in the house now and their first school dance taking place this afternoon, we’ve had quite an interesting week of questions on the topic of dating and relationships.

Of course they’re not actually going to actually date until they are SIXTEEN and not a day before, they like to think that sitting together at lunch is “going out” and for now, I’ll let them call it that.

One of the topics that came up – much to my surprise was that of “Dating your friends ex.”

To help simplify things a bit for the kids, since we all know how confusing toting around one of those teen minds can be, I laid out a few simple rules that I’ve always considered before becoming involved with anyone.

• 1.  Never date your siblings ex
• 2.  Never date your friends ex
• 3.  Never date your friends sibling
• 4.  When you’re grown, never date someone you work with

I think that’s just about as simple as it gets.

Since this is a hot topic around our house right now and I’m only months away from having to get 10 new phone lines, what are some other tips that you wish your parents had offered up to you in your beginning days of dating?

At this point, I could use all the advise I can get.