Overwhelmed

Streams of Consciousness Sunday is here again.  The Notebook Sisters have this link, and I am participating.  You should too!  I don't know about everyone else, but I have a tendency to agonize over every sentence and worry about the nuance of every word.  It all has to be perfect!  This sort of an exercise, in which you just set the timer and start typing, is great for getting out of a writing rut. 

The prompt for today is: Overwhelmed.

Women seem to feel overwhelmed more than men. I am not sure why, but perhaps it is that we tend to "take on" the issues or projects of those closest to us.  For example, when my husband is running around like a chicken with his head off because it's the day before school and he can't find his favorite pair of pants, I tend to experience his emotional distress, even if I pretend that I don't.  I don't want to feel stressed by his lack of planning or his tendency to never put things back where he found them, but he's my husband.  I love him and want him to be happy.  That marriage thing is about sharing burdens, instead of pointing and laughing. 

My son is the same way.  He will forget where he put something, or he will leave something upstairs and want me to rescue him by getting it for him.  Part of me wants him to be happy, so I put a foot on the stair.  The other part of me, the one that wants an independent child to become an independent adult, points upstairs and tells my son to go and get it himself.  I still feel his distress. I seem to collect the distress of my loved ones. 

It is Sunday before the first day of school for my husband and I, and the first week promises to be overwhelming with new routines and new tasks that must be completed.  I want to start the week off right, so Monday morning is not completely overwhelming. I will put all of my things out that I will need for Monday, and I will tell my husband to do the same.  Maybe this will alleviate a little of the stress, and I won't feel so overwhelmed. 

Want to play?  There are just 5 steps...

1. Set your timer and write for 5 minutes.

2. Publish! (No editing. This is rough, unrefined writing.)

3. Grab our SOC button from the sidebar.

4. Sign in with our LinkUP on Sundays.

5. Stop by the other blogs and say hey!