
For some reason, I look in the mirror lately--usually out of necessity--and
THIS
is what I see. Ugh. Now, at my age, it shouldn't matter so much, right? I mean, I've got my man, he seldom notices my hair unless it's tickling his nose when we're cuddling, and he seems happy with me. I've even asked him, just to make sure.
The very fact that I cut my own hair without waiting for my next stylist appointment meant I was so frazzled I needed to do something outrageous. My hair had grown past my shoulders--Have I told you this one before? I think I have--and Mel kept telling me it looked good, not to cut it. Even my stylist told me to keep it long. But neither my husband nor my stylist was walking around the house half the day with sweat-drenched hair and shoulders because of the stress of taking care of Mom, putting her in her wheelchair, then lifting her out, then trying to cook something she would eat, and worrying if we were going to be dealing with sundowner's that afternoon.
One day I opened the front door and saw yet another long, familiar package delivered by UPS. I didn't need to open it, because I knew it was a model airplane. Now, you know how Mel told me he liked my hair long? Well, I had also told him I liked having only one basement room filled with model airplanes. I closed the door, walked into the bathroom, picked up the scissors and started hacking, and I hacked until no hair touched my neck. Suddenly, all the stress disappeared.
I felt good again, and besides, I had an appointment the next week to see my stylist. Anything I had missed, she could fix. She's accustomed to my quirks and knows how to recover my style once I've destroyed it. Okay, it takes a couple of trips, but I can live with that.
When you are stressed past the breaking point, what creative ways have you discovered that will help you come back down to earth? What makes you calm down when all else fails? I might need some different ideas for the next time I lose control.
Labels: Dealing with bad stress, giving up stress, photos by Eugene Arthur Patterson