Jefferson's Ten Rules

The inspirational Mollie at the inspirational Monticello

Life teaches us lots of wonderful lessons.

Sometimes I wonder how my youngest daughter has learned so much at such a young age. She is 10.

She goes beyond being a good kid. She's a wonderful person....an "old soul" my friend Shirley says.

On our recent trip to Virginia she did it again.

I've been grasping onto ideas, quotes and inspirational sayings to keep me afloat the last while. Just to keep me thinking straight and sane.

When we went into the little shop at Monticello, Mollie bought a "Monticello" chocolate bar, and a little plastic souvenir in which oil drops float down ramps, and drip, drip onto the next, drip, drip onto the next, until they all gather into one big oil glob on the bottom. Flip it over and repeat.

As she checked out all the gizmos and gadgets, I stood transfixed in front of a plaque.  Jefferson's Ten Rules.

Me being me, I read the rules and got a bit weepy.

I told my dear child I was just going to wait for her on the wooden bench outside the shop.  Nothing I needed.

When she came out of the shop, she had a big grin on her face and handed me  a bag with something in it.

I love that child.

This is what the plaque read:

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

Never spend money before you have earned it.

Never buy what you don’t want because it is cheap.

Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold.

We seldom repent of having eaten too little.

Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.

Take things always by the smooth handle.

When angry, count ten before you speak: if very angry, count a hundred.