Origin of the phrase “pick your battles”:
References a well-known aspect of military strategy, which suggests that when troops are thinly stretched, they are often unsuccessful. For example, when a country tries to fight a war on two fronts, it often struggles to secure both, and sometimes it is more advisable to deal with one issue before proceeding to the next to ensure success. The more fronts a military is coping with, the harder it is to handle the strategic and day-to-day operations on all of these fronts, and sometimes a front must be abandoned because there are not enough personnel to secure it, which is generally undesirable.
It’s funny how the older my kids get, the more grateful I am for the big things and the more I let the small things slip – things I would have never pictured myself letting go.
Our rule is to make your bed every day no matter what. That’s how my Mom taught me and the rule was passed down. Beds are not to be unmade unless you are in them.
Another rule is to be respectful and kind to your family members.
Some days, because they were kind and respectful and there were few arguments, I walk right past their unmade beds and gently pull their doors closed.
Picking my battles one at a time and grateful to be able to step back, take a deep breath, and accept an occasional defeat.
Do you ever have to pick one battle over another?
life on wry 
I left my bed unmade this morning just to see if I could do it. My Mother taught me like yours that no good day can begin with an unmade bed (with hospital sheet corners to boot — she was a nurse). I think I have lost this small “battle” with my Mother-trained self, because I am off to make the bed RIGHT NOW.
For the longest time, I couldn’t leave a bed unmade. It was totally engrained in me too. I got over it though. Life got so busy, and there just wasn’t time for everything. This is a battle that I’ve chosen to let go with myself. Does that even make sense? You know what I mean.
Makes total sense. Kind of like the clothes and outfits I leave all over my bathroom…. 🙂 I pretend they aren’t there.
Oh yes, I’ve had to hold my tongue and decide that lots of things weren’t worth the potential battle. Most things, in fact. I guess the only battles I fought were ones when I decided that someone (usually NOT me) was being treated unfairly and I could do something about it.)
I have to pick and choose battles all the time or else my nerves would be shot…things I have absolutely no control over I walk away from.. why battle something you can not control..
Ever? Try every day, LOL!
This is a lesson I learned from my grown daughter. She’s a very wise girl.