SWEET TEA

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

On a scale of 1 to 10 . . .


Princess is gone to camp this week.
Her dog is depressed and stressed,
what a combo. He's always funky
anytime she is away for any length of time.

This morning I heard someone on TV talking about the adverse effect stress has on our body.  I feel blessed that in this stage of my life I have very little stress.  I know that can change in a moment, but for now, I'm in a thankful and blessed stage of life.

I have always tried to teach my children the method I use for keeping stress to a minimum.  When something stressful occurs I always try to say to myself, "Where does this fall on a scale of 1 to 10?", with "1" being totally relaxed and at peace with the world, AND "10" being bad news from the doctor".  That's how I roll and it usually serves me well, except on the occasions when I've received unpleasant news from the doctor.  Nope, I don't handle anything medical very well.
I digress.


When the kids were all young we would often talk about "the scale" while driving in the car.  I would give them a scenario and they would tell me where they would rank it on the 1 to 10 scale.  I'd give them scenarios like, 
  • your best friend is mad and won't talk to you
  • you make a bad grade on a test
  • you forget your locker combination
  • you're grounded for a weekend
    etc. etc. etc.
With this thought in mind, I'm wondering how you would rate the following.  I hope you'll share your answers in your comment.  I'll share mine at the bottom of this post. 
  • put dinner in the oven and forget to turn the oven on
  • stormy weather
  • plane ride
  • dentist appointment
  • gaining 5 lbs in a week 
my answers in order:  2, 4, 9, 6, 7
What are your answers?
If no one comments I'm gonna be
stressed.



25 comments:

Nonnie said...

2 ... if company coming, probably 9
3
7
2
7

Great way to teach your children to deal with stress. I'm still not sure I handle stress properly. Sometimes I can deal with the bigger things better than the little ones.
Poor doggie. :-( Too bad you can't share some of the scenarios with him to help him deal with his stress.

Shelly said...

2
2
1
10
8',674

Jeanie said...

I wouldn't stress too much about any of those.....except the 5 lb gain....that would stress me way more than it should-probably 8 or 9, or at least enough that I would need something like ice cream to calm myself. :)

acorn hollow said...

I would say going to the dentist a 10 all the rest not much 2 I would guess.
Cathy

Handsome's wife said...

2
1
1
10
5

NanaDiana said...

2
1
9
2
4
As you can see- I do NOT like planes! xo Diana

Linda said...

Dentist is a 10!!! I can handle anything else!!

Linda @ Life and Linda said...

I think the 5 pound weight gain would worry me....9 As for the rest, I wouldn't be stressed about them.
We are all different. zinteresting answers.

karen said...

No dinner? Eat out, I say! That's a 3-4, depending on how bad I wanted what I was cooking.
Stormy weather? LOVE IT! That's a 1. But you have to remember storms in CA are not storms in LA, so it's all relative.
Plane trip? LOVE IT! Definitely a 1.
Dentist? Hmmm... I love my dentist, and generally speaking I have good teeth, so maybe a 2-3?
Gaining 5 lbs in a week? Yeeahh... that's where my stress shows at a 9.

auntpearl said...

Something to definitely think about!

2
9
5
9
9

Bobbie said...

1
6
9
5
7
I really need to get my book out and read it again "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". It usually puts things in perspective for me.

Joy Tilton said...

10,10,10,10,10... I need a chill pill! All kidding aside, I'm with you- I can deal with just about anything except illness. We've had our share in the family recently and it stresses me to the max.

STILLMAGNOLIA said...

2 except if company is coming.
3 I get charged by stormy weather.
5 -I prefer to drive...but don't mind flying.
9 - I have negative dentist experiences that put me over the edge.
5 - since i have been sick and losing weight...it might be a 7...that means the prednasone is kicking in.

Just Stuff From a Boomer said...

The plane ride is a 9 for me as well. The others are bumps in the road. About 3 1/2 years ago, for Terry's job, we moved about 1000 miles from our children and grandsons. That has caused another 9 on the stress chart. You're so right about # 10 being bad news from the doctor. I really do keep telling myself... no one is sick...over and over.

Wild Oregonian said...

0 (what is this "oven" you speak of?)
1
3
8 (not fond of dentists)
10

SouthLakesMom said...

Hmm..my answers:
1 (can always go out)
3 (just because of our power issues)
6 (I don't mind the flying, it's the stupid security that stresses me)
2 (I love my dentist)
7 (I'm working too hard to go the other direction!)

That was a great scale to help the kids know where to place things in terms of stress!

Aloha Acres said...

Love the lesson. I'm going to try that with my boys. My oldest lets stress get to him easily and it worries (stresses) me so much. LOL

Sush said...

LOL I"m stressing just trying to figure out your answers and then list mine!
I don't do stress well!

Cheri said...

OK here ya go
5
2 - if just a rain storm and not tornadoes
4
3
9- because I want to lose not gain

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Not comment?? Are you kidding?? When I saw the name of this blog...I hot footed it over here. Too darned cute!! :)

Parsley said...

I'm stressed just thinking about it all. Lol

~Anchored In Christ~ said...

heck i'm stressed right now about school and grades so other those things you listed isnt nothing to me right now compared to worrying over this.

karen said...

In reply to your comment today: I've had some close calls on my bike too. And didn't I ever tell you about the time I plowed into a group of trash cans? I was bruised so badly it looked like I'd been beaten.
You're more observant than you think - you've whooped me many a time in our games which, by the way, I'm missing. So when you're up to a new one...

Relyn Lawson said...

Ok, here's mine: 2, 1, 1, 2, 4,

Those kinds of things don't bother me much, I guess.

Anonymous said...

All 1 except for dentist 10, and plane ride 10.....ok maybe the 5 lbs would get a 7, but only because I would know something is wrong;-)

Great post ! Thanks for the smile:-)
Filly

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