How Do You Deal With Stress?

The North Beach at Sandy Hook, NJ

I stress, you stress, we all stress. When I am stressed I usually have one of two reactions. Either my eye starts twitching or I get hives. Neither of these reactions are much fun.

Last week was a difficult one. One family member underwent major surgery. Daughter #1 and her beloved celebrated their her first wedding anniversary at our house. (We were going to have a cookout, but--of course--it rained.) The edits for Patriot’s Courage arrived with a ton of things to fix. After three tries, hubby and I failed to find a pair of shoes that fit his mother. Then I learned my cousin, who is only four years younger than I am, had open heart surgery. And there were no more Christening caps for baptisms at our church.

Of course, some folks have things far worse and many people point out that I am technically retired. Most days it doesn't feel like I'm retired.

At any rate, I was busy. I dove into the edits whenever I could. I planned a very simple gathering for the small anniversary celebration so that wasn't really a problem. I crocheted whenever I could--in the car, while visiting our family member, or while visiting my mother-in-law. I finished four caps that way.

The week ended well. Our family member is recuperating well from the surgery. The party was delightful. I just printed out the manuscript so I can see if everything is fixed. Yesterday morning we went to another shoe store and found a pair of shoes that not only fit my mother-in-law, but that she likes. My cousin will be staying with her folks until she's well.

But I'm itchy. Red welts have appeared in several location on one leg. I'm hoping that since things have calmed down, the rash won't spread. The bright spot is that my eye isn't twitching. 😉

There were a few things that would have calmed me last week that I didn't take the time to do, mostly because I didn't have any time. If I had taken a walk at the beach or in the park, I would have felt better. If I had taken the time to paint or draw, it would have settled my mood.

Prayer would have helped, too. Not that I didn't pray, but my prayers were quick and desperate. I didn't sit still and spend much time with the Lord. I find meditative prayer far more effective for me.

How do you deal with the stress in your life?