Walk Away Mother

In our recent trip to Florida, we visited a beautiful Japanese Garden. Each step along the path was planned to please and calm the soul. We sat by a rock garden that was meticulously raked, each stone placed to give the impression of water. The only sounds were of our foot steps along the path, the waterfalls and wild bird calls. Each plant was picked for a specific purpose. The gardens were carefully and thoughtfully tended. The garden winds around a lovely lake and a pond filled with birds and eventually to the gift shop. At the gift shop you can purchase typical Japanese items like chop sticks, soy sauce bowls with Japanese designs, jewelery, art, tea sets, etc. One of the tiny tea sets had an inscription of 10 rules to live by for a healthy, balanced life written by a Japanese man thousands of years ago. The first rule was "Listen more, talk less." As I read on, I noticed that each rule is currently or was one of my New Year's Resolution. I called to my husband from across the gift shop (the volume of one's voice was not specifically mentioned in maintaining balance and harmony in life), "Some ancient dude stole my resolutions!!!" My startled daughter quickly came over to me, took the tiny tea cup from my hand and said, "Just walk away Mother..........."