Life is my litterbox ... Grab the SCOOP!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thursday Thirteen #28: STRESS!

It's been an odd Thursday.

Mom got home later than usual today, but she's ready for school to start on Monday, 'cuz the classroom is prepared, the Xeroxing is complete, and she knows that rosters/classes are completely out of her control. She's choosing not to worry 'bout that.

Grandma is furry worried and frightened (as is Mom) 'cuz Grandad is gonna have to have open heart surgery. He's at the hospital 'cuz he was supposed to have an angioplasty this afternoon ... Purrayers and healing karmic thoughts would be furry welcome from the blogosphere.

An' it's nearly 6:30 PM, but I smell bacon ... Mom's makin' a BLT without the "T" ... I wanna have a nice big bite of that turkey bacon! PLEEEEEEZZZZEEEE?!?



Mom's friend Lana, who's living the sweet life in "small-town" South Dakota, sent this message in an email 'cuz she knows how stressed Mom's been this week ...

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. "

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

So, my friends and colleagues, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested awhile.


And for this week's THURSDAY THIRTEEN, I present ...

Thirteen great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1. Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.

8. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

9. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

10. Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

11. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

12. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

13. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

14 comments:

Donny and Marie and Casey said...

We are purring for your gpa. Mommy really liked the glass of water story, she gets quite stressed with her health quite often.

~Marie

Ivan from WMD said...

We loved the TT! Hope everything is well with your Grandad...

Zoey and the furballs said...

We'll be praying hard for your Grandpa. We know that everything is going to turn out great!

mister jeter harris, hizself said...

deer dmm,
first uv all ... i'm purrin an purrayin fer yer grandpa. i'm askin evreecat in dis howse to do da same.
second uv all ... i'm copyin yer TT fer mi aunt an unkel hoo ar goin thru a verree stressful time now. i know dey will like it an i hope it helpz dem. dey need sum purrz an purrayerz, too.
mi mom iz teechin summer skool fer two weekz startin nex week.
luv--yer grate frend--jh

Tiki, Kirby, and StanLee said...

We are sending purrs and purrayers for your Grandad. We hope everything goes well and he feels better soon. We really liked the glass of water story and that is a really good TT.

Parker said...

That was exactly what I needed to read today! Thanks DMM!

Shilgiah the Cat said...

We are sending warm fuzzy healing thoughts to your mom's dad...that's your grandpa, right?

Anyway, thanks for the great thoughts on stress and dealing with it. My favorite way to reduce stress for both mom and me is to have her pet me and brush me...makes me purr and purr and lowers blood pressure for both of us.

Daisy said...

I sure hope all went well with your Grandad. I am purring and purring for him to have a speedy recovery.

I love your list this week. Those are good words to live by.

Oscar the Puppy Cat said...

WHat a great post for this TT!

Anonymous said...

Momma:I'll be sending out those prayers for your father. Let us know when the surgery is exactly. When I remember to only focus on that which I have control over, the stress is much less. Hugs, Lynn

DK & The Fluffies said...

We love #13!

Rebecca Meyer said...

lots of purrs for your grampa , hope everything went well.

thanks so much for sharin your TT, its awesome!

- tomtoms, minnie and dexter

Tyler said...

DAISYMae Maus,
Please tell your Mom that not only am is my Momma a teacher, but she received her credential from UCSD. She also taught for a year in South Bay Union School District, while living in PB. Wowsie, we just noticed where you guys live.
Toodles, Tyler

Jake and Bathsheba said...

DaisyMae,

We send lots of healing thoughts and good karma all the way from Virginia for your Grandpa.

With positive purring vibes,
~J&B