My Whim is Law

…in capital letters, no less.

And while I’m not going to get into specifics about just why today qualifies as a Red Letter Day of ALL DAYS, I do want to take a minute to talk about how I try to recover from them, or get some suggestions from you on what to do to shake off the crud already.

Here’s what I’ve tried thus far:

• Venting to trusted friends. Can I just say I have the bestest friends ever – especially when they keep hearing the same old crap overandoverandoveragainalready?
• Physical activity. Nope, I don’t get to pound anything (or anyone. As tempting as that might have been today, alas). Instead, I blew off some steam by taking a few minutes to stomp up & down the esplanade along the river near my office. (I might have been swearing and muttering under my breath as I stomped – but that’s aerobic, no?)
• Sure it’s a cliche – but stopping along the way to take in a few Very Deep Breaths. Useful for the placebo effect, if nothing else…
• Finding the laughter in the situation (with an assist or two from friends who didn’t quite know how/why they were unwittingly assisting in same). Just the thought that I’m uber-scary when I’m wrathful made me giggle. And while I don’t want a milkshake any time soon, it helps to know that @robwagpdx thinks I “need a milkshake. And by milkshake I mean that which distracts you with deliciousness, not necessarily a milkshake.”
• Remembering why I do what I do. Even when the reason may be outwardly unpalatable at first. Sure, #SheTeen & #HeTeen live up to their teenage billing in all kinds of unpleasant ways, and may not outwardly show any appreciation for my existence, much less the fact that I share the same air that they breathe. But at the heart of it – they’re part and parcel of every decision I make. And they’re worth it.

So – what do you do in order to recover from a crappy day? I’ll check in later to see (while I’m in the midst of the upcoming #momtaxipalooza, that is) what you have for me…

Update: What did I end up doing last night? I took a page from John’s book, and listened to some great music in the car while doing my #momtaxipalooza. I took #SheTeen out for ice cream at Salt & Straw (who did NOT have my favorite bone marrow & smoked cherry ice cream on last night’s menu, alas.) And it seems that my acupuncturist (the fabulous Andrew Hill) was onto something when he suggested that my, um, sluggish digestion (which has still been sluggish despite kale, flax oil & tons of water/probiotic drinks) might be due to some repressed anger issues. Turns out that when you flush out the anger, well – other stuff gets flushed as well…bonus!