The Wisdom of Silence

Sometimes it is better to hold your tongue, to refrain from that comment that would seem to say it all so well. I had been totally annoyed and fed up with my neighbor's cats. First of all, I am not a cat person and really only tolerate kittens. But I had discovered that the cats across the street had discovered my dry flower beds as their new sandbox. There is nothing like cleaning up piles of cat poop intermingled among fragile sweet pea shoots. Plus, the final straw was the day I found their deposits in my vegetable boxes. It was horrifying that day! I found that Goldyn, my awesome Rottie mix, had come upon their treasure too, and delighted in rolling himself in their pooh. Ugh! There is nothing like trying to clean pooh stuck in and around a silver choke chain, plus bathing him on a day not originally planned that way. I was set to cross the street and tell them directly to stop and contain their cats or else. . .
The right time never seemed to come, I could never find the Mrs. alone. Plus, she had all those children she looked after, besides the five she had herself. And how would I really phrase the problem, without coming across as a crotchety old woman? So I managed, took the problem in my own hands, vowed to find alternative deterrents, that may include Goldyn to guard the perimeter of our yard. Then one evening, I was met with two of the youngest of the neighbor's clan with piping warm pumpkin bread "just baked" for us, in wishing us a Merry Christmas time. I gushed with thanks, and breathed a prayer of gratitude that I had kept my tongue.
I don't always have to say something, even if I'm right. Sometimes it is okay to put up with some inconvenience, especially when there are relationships at stake. It's even okay to keep my silence, when my husband comes to bed so late, and awakens me from my deepest sleep with the crunching of his night time snacks. It's not the time to let my verbal cascade fall. Sometimes the wisest thing, is to pause, to think, and not respond.