Stress Factors

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Returning to work was all that I thought it would be. The constant motion, the aggravation, the paperwork, the texts, cell calls, and e-mails. Fun shit.

I tried real hard to stay above the fray. I know that the major cause of my stress is an inability to manage time against the backdrop of a busy life so I struggled hard to stay happy.

"You're a little tense," my wife noticed on Thursday after I suggested to the children that perhaps, given the fact that they were approaching adulthood, they could fill the dog's water dish every three weeks or so in an effort to chip in.

I knew that the right thing to do was to consider things in a positive light. After all, positive thinking may not work, but negative thinking always does.

I got a little tired. "What's a matter?" one of my buddy texted.

"Getting all of this in motion is tiring," I said.

"Preaching to the choir," he asked.

The Yanks won five of six. No problems there. Pasta twice - the one with olives, clams, and shrimp was fine-dining quality(yeah, I cooked it). That's all good.

So, why the angst?

I'm really not sure. I suppose that we all have this inner struggle for approval. Hopefully, we will do well. Hopefully everyone will like us. Putting our best foot forward is the only option, and we expect to be appreciated for the efforts. Its all we are looking for, right?

Mowing the lawn with the I-pod took away some of the anxious feelings. One of the most moving songs that popped into my ear was My Way sung by Sinatra, written by Paul Anka. Man, those are some crazy lyrics.

Anka once said he wrote it after hearing Sinatra talk about retiring - "So now, the end is near...and now I face the final curtain."

Yet as in any great piece of writing the double meaning is dizzying in its singular context.

"Let the record show, I took the blows, and did it My WAAAAAY."

And the voice. What a freaking voice.

Ah well, why was I stressed?

Who the hell knows.

Positive thinking - it might not work.

Negative thinking - it always works.

I'm swinging for the fences today. I'm going to take the pop cans back and watch the Yankees.

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