Decompress

Okay, remember from all those under the ocean movies or scuba diving documentaries where the people who have been down deep deep deep in the water and in order to return safely to the surface they have to ascend very slowly and at times even stop so that the nitrogen in their blood can dissipate safely and they don't die a horrible painful death by popping up to the surface too quickly?

Sometimes that is the perfect analogy for being a parent - working or stay at home. There are times in our lives when we just have to remove ourselves from the stresses, pressures, pangs, etc, etc, etc of our day to day living and just decompress.

I am decompressing. If I don't I will explode or implode, take your preference of catastrophic consequences of the crazy hectic world we immerse ourselves into.

I realized that I was letting my life get a little too hard when I was wide awake at 1:00 am after only 2 hours of sleep and my mind was a whirling dervish, my stomach felt like I had swallowed the Tazmanian devil and my legs were actually shaky like I had just run a marathon. I decided this was not a good thing.

Since that awful night, my life hasn't eased up any - all the same pressures are still there and the deadlines are still looming and family still needs EVERYTHING that a family needs. But, I'm choosing first of all to be aware of my stress and acknowledge that sometimes life just stinks, but it's not the end of the world and I will get through and there will be sunnier days. Taking any available moment to breathe deep, listen to soothing music (thank goodness my co-workers don't seem to mind my taste in music), eat healthy, and take 2 minutes to think and clear my mind before forging ahead with the next "to do" thing on my too long list are just a few of the techniques that help me cope. Realizing that my life is so much more than deadlines and to do lists also helps and that decompressing is essential for our emotional and physical well - being.

Like running late this morning and realizing that it's my day to write this blog!! arrrrgh

Excuse me now while I take a minute to deompress and then forge onward.......