Stress Management

The holidays arrive bearing gifts of stress!

Why do holidays have to be stressful? Holidays should be about spending time with your loved ones and enjoying time off. We shouldn't be battling the inconsiderate shopping crowds, traffic and hustle and bustle. We shouldn't be up cooking all night, only to load up and travel to three different cities to visit relatives the next two days. I don't want to sound like a scrooge, I love the holidays, I just don't like the hustle and bustle. Why can't my wife and I just set on the couch for a couple of days and eat bon bons in front of the fire?

As we all know, this holiday season is more stressful than most. Our country's financial and job loss situation make this a very difficult time for everyone. I have always tried to find a way to manage my stress. The majority of the time I can use exercise to wipe away my stress. However, we have stressful times that move outside the boundaries of our normal stress management procedures. Last week was one of those times.

I reached a point last week where I did not want to exercise at all. I was eating crap, feeling sluggish and completely unmotivated. Naturally, this amplified all of my stress. I had to find a way out of this stress loop and get back on track.

My youngest brother is a hunter. He will hunt anything that moves as long as as he can eat it. I call him to brag about a new bike and he calls me when he has a new gun. I may wear spandex in public, but he thinks camouflage is fashionable for any occasion. I try to hunt with him at least one weekend a year. I am not big on hunting, but it gives us some much needed quality time. My brothers and I are very close and we don't get to spend much time together. Besides, maybe some time in nature will clear my mind and reduce some of my stress.

Last Friday night, we pack up the camouflage and headed to South Arkansas for a weekend of fun in the woods. We arrived at our destination around 1 AM with plans of being in our deer stands by 6 AM. Not getting much sleep did not bother me nearly as much as knowing the temperature Saturday morning was to be around 23 degrees. I had every piece of warm bike clothing I own, under my camouflage pants and jacket. Surprisingly, I wasn't a bit cold. As far as the hunting goes, I saw over 50 deer that weekend but didn't even take a shot. Being in nature and watching the deer run around seemed to be helping my stress.

The deer camp is actually the house of a good friend of ours. He and his brother live across the street from each other out in the country. They are both divorced and have daughters. When ask why they are divorced, they will both tell you some version of their wife not being able to fish or hunt and they had to let them go.

Their daughters, however, are excellent hunters, even the 9 year old. We stayed with the brother with the 9 year old. I had a first class lesson on how a 9 year old girl can run the show. I guess it is somewhat comforting to know that women are born with certain traits and it is natures plan not some evil plan they develop as they get older. I had no idea that a 9 year old girl was so proficient at sarcasm and ordering people around. Truly, women are the more intelligent species.

While chatting with the 9 year old, I noticed a couple of guitars and a drum set by the TV. I was immediately informed she was in charge of this equipment and would allow me to join in the fun if I so desired. I couldn't see myself spending time playing Rock Band, but I would participate if it made her happy.

She turned on the equipment and ordered me to take over the drums. Her dad would be the lead guitar, my brother would be the backup and she would be the lead vocals. I have extremely good hand eye coordination so it only took a few minutes for me to get the hang of the drums. I was mildly entertained and started to relax. As time went on, I started to enjoy myself and loosen up. The next thing I know, we have a house full of people singing and dancing. I have been on the drums for over three hours and all of my stress has disappeared. Who knew that this silly game would wipe away all of my stress. I had a blast, although I will admit there is something inherently wrong with a 9 year old girl singing Hotel California and The Joker.

I returned home refreshed and longing for a good run. I guess I am back to normal, well, as normal as I can be.