“Hardly.” Rita laughed. “But I really enjoy it, especially when I know someone is enjoying what I make.”

“Do the kids help you?”

“Melissa seems to have an interest, but Brian grew up watching Food Network and he only cares about eating, not cooking or preparing.”

Turning the focus back to Rita’s friend, Luna continued, “Did your friend have any interests? Anything she ever talked about wanting to do with her life?”

“Not really. The older we got, the more responsibility she took on at home. Her boyfriend, well, I wouldn’t call him a loser, but he was aimless, too. I think because they both had depressing upbringings all they thought about was getting as far away from home as possible.”

Luna sighed. “And now kids are living with their parents until they’re in their late twenties, if they ever leave at all.”

“Funny how the world has changed so much in twenty years.”

“Technology thrusts us forward before we have a chance to get our balance. I just saw a woman a little while ago and said we are in perpetual motion.” Luna sighed. “People need downtime. Even if it’s just for a few minutes a day. Clear your head. Hit the reset button.”

“I agree, but I’m also guilty of never stopping to catch my breath.”

Luna smiled. “One of the basic precepts of Zen is breath. Through deep breathing, one can clear the mind of anxiety, stress, anger.” Luna looked at Rita, hoping she didn’t lose her with the Zen thing.

“I totally understand the idea. It’s putting it into practice that seems to be the challenge.”

“Ah. There’s a word: challenge. Challenge is only our perception of the level of difficulty.”

Rita gave Luna a quizzical look.