In the McNeill household, there is a tradition that comes around every month on the first day. It’s called “A pinch and a punch for the first of the month” where we children (the term children includes my mother as well) would literally pinch and punch each other as we sang the little rhyme with a hint of menace. This was a source of much contention in our home and despite the “opt out” option that my parents desperately put into play, it never really stood for much. There are specific rules to the game that would sometimes get broken like you can’t pinch and punch someone who has already pinched and punched you so quite often I would pinch and punch a sibling and then tell them to quickly to the same to so-and-so.

I have brought this little piece of luggage along with me into my marriage and as it was contentious in the McNeill home, it is also usually a point of dispute in our little Muirhead family. I am usually victorious at getting Conor first due to my many years of experience. Conor seems to be rather prideful about the whole thing and 9 out of 10 times will not take it like a man. Instead he’ll pinch and punch me back breaking the number one ground rule! And yes we are grown-up bona fide adults. However any evidence of maturity dissolves on the first day of every month.