I’ll See Your Crazy and Raise You One

Uh oh.  Trouble’s coming.  I can feel it.

I know you know what I’m talking about.  One of those “insane” times where you throw the metaphorical crowbar, duct tape, and baby oil you’ve been using to “make life fit” out the window, and start dreaming up all kinds of trouble just so you can claim control of SOMETHING.

Or, maybe you don’t know how this feels.  Maybe this is crazy behavior unique to my family tree.

I hope not.  ‘Cause frankly, lettin’ loose with a little bit of the unexpected is kinda fun.

My latest flirtation with all things zany began when my wonderful baby sitter/beta reader told me she’d snagged a full-time job.  I ignored the harsh reality of her pending last day for an entire weekend before I began the arduous task of posting and interviewing potential replacements.  Finding new help is especially hard for me.  I’m always terrified I’m going to hire someone who’s going to realize what a lunatic they work for.  (Well, a few of them might have figured it out, but they appreciated my lunacy, so it all worked out.)

Then work escalated from annoyingly painful to oh-my-God-I-just-need-two-minutes-to-go-pee busy.  Seriously!  You’d be amazed how much friendlier I could be if people would move on past my cubicle and save their question for AFTER I finish my calorie-conscious turkey sandwich.

Then the girls had to add a few fun things to the mix.  The oldest (AKA Drama Queen) is going on a field trip to an school set back in the 1800’s–which means she has to have real old-fashioned clothes.  Long jean skirts are not easy to whip up/find these days.  (Thank you, Amazon Prime, for saving my bacon again.)  The youngest (AKA Twilight Sparkle Girl) only worked me over by scaring the crap out of me by falling off the highest monkey bar flat on her back at school.

So, yeah.  I’m looking for something I can control.  Something with a high amount of creativity and satisfaction.  Like a new color for my hair.  Or starting an entirely new contemporary romance series (writing, not reading), which would (naturally) require a concentrated “research” night with my pals.  Or buying a convertible Camaro.

God only knows where I’m going to end up.  Maybe I’ll do all three.

What about you?  How do you handle stress?  Do you counterbalance whatever you have no control over by finding something you CAN control?  Or do you settle for chocolate?  And/or wine?