Why does stress seem to roll off some days,and other days, the slightest thing sets people off?
My students are exuding stress lately. My lit class had papers due today, and in the past hour I've had two students in my office crying. One probably needed a referral to the Student Accessibility Center to help her with her reading, but she's reluctant to go. The other was crying so much that her false eyelash fell off. I'm not sure if they're getting lots of pressure from parents, grades, work, or whatever, but stress levels seem to be at an all-time high.
The parking ramp cashier's computer malfunctioned, and wouldn't let the gate go up. Three people got out of their cars and started yelling at the cashier. Very helpful behavior. A bunch more started honking. Yep, that's going to help things.
Things are going to go wrong. I can either deal with it positively or ramp up all that angst. Many days I'm at the epicenter of the stress storm, but sometimes watching someone else's idiocy can help me deal with my own.
My DVD player malfunctioned in class. Classroom support came out very quickly with replacement speakers, and we were up and running again in 20 minutes. As we were waiting, I asked for clean jokes. We had a riot telling jokes until the new speakers arrived.
But I wish I knew why some days things like this are fun enough--and other days pure torture.
Sunshine? Sleep? Blood-sugar levels?
Today I spent some cash on parking and a bit on coffee. I have purged nothing but will be back on board tomorrow.
Stressed? Not me!
October 24th, 2011 at 07:31 pm
October 24th, 2011 at 07:45 pm 1319485532
October 24th, 2011 at 08:16 pm 1319487412
I had a huge "a-ha" moment on Saturday night, and it was: it really doesn't take much to make me happy. We were vegging out on the family floor on two twin mattresses left over from the night before's slumber party. We had on Celtic Thunder on PBS, both my girls have major crushes on Damien. My husband and boys were playing with Legos.
I agree that it is sunshine and sleep for me that help me operate and optimal functioning.
And I've learned that I can deflect chaos and if I'm calm, the kids are calm. If I'm nuts, odds are they'll be nuts, too. We can't all be nuts at the same time!
October 25th, 2011 at 05:52 pm 1319565166