Are You Too Busy to Read This?

I'm guessing that half of the readers answered "yes," and didn't link over to the blog. The rest of you are the polite ones who care about my feelings and, therefore, are scanning impatiently, waiting for me to get to the point because it's Monday and you still have stuff on your desk from last week and you really don't have time to do anything but put out the constant stream of little fires that pop up in your life over and over again (and was that a mixed metaphor? Who knows? Who cares? You're behind and you'll never catch up, and Keri, why are you running on like this?????

Stop. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Let the air tickle your nasal pharynx and release some nitric oxide into your circulatory system. Let the NO signal to the brain to relax your arteries and open to more blood flow. Let more oxygen into your heart, your brain, your organs. Let your shoulders relax down your back. Let your blood pressure lower. Let your adrenal glands slow down and stop pumping out stress hormones like cortisol. Let your body stop laying on fat in the cells around your abdomen. Take another deep breath. Do it again.

Hit "print" and cut that paragraph out. Tape it to your mirror, your dashboard, your Blackberry, your mother-in-law's forehead. When you want to scream, cry, hyperventilate, just stop. This is your life. It's supposed to be fun.