Stress! It's Everywhere! (Stab It With Cleaning Supplies)


Over the weekend, I had to do relatively little, and it was wonderful. There was Star Trek to be watched (though not enough), a museum to visit, a devastating Packers game to watch, and a few errands to do. I got to read more than I have in quite a while, and when the TV was on, I managed to quell my desire to multitask - instead, I just sat and enjoyed.

Unfortunately, at the end of yesterday night, I was thrown nearly into a panic and rushed around the house tidying like a cyclone in reverse. It was a feeling that if I woke up to a messy apartment, I would turn into a puddle of emotional goo; it was the proverbial straw ready to break my back (...okay, I guess I'm the camel in this metaphor. That's fun.). A clean apartment would keep me sane, and the cleaning process would calm my meltdown from Chernobyl levels to oh-crap-this-cheese-is-moldy levels.

The thing is, the apartment wasn't even that messy, and at the end of it, I hadn't crossed off anything on my to-do list (dusting, vacuuming, sweeping...). And you all know how much I love to cross things off a list. In short, I kept from freaking out, but I still felt unaccomplished when I went to bed.

I'm guessing this all means I need to spend more time meditating and doing yoga to manage my stress. And I bet spending more time on my novel will help, too. I've been exhausted for weeks, would rather stay home and read (as always, but now with a passion), and have spent less time knitting because I haven't been enjoying it. These are not terribly good signs.

Spousal Unit quoted some Confucian zen master or costume designer or something last week: Meditate for ten minutes every day, unless you are too busy. Then, meditate for an hour.

I may not do a full hour, but I can definitely make a better effort.

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