Today’s opener comes courtesy of my granddog Brutus (an Ohio State fan, yes!), who always stops to smell the flowers and, well, pretty much everything else.
I got a call from my son yesterday with the typical December opener: “Mom, if you know who drew my name for Christmas, tell them I need a new calculator.” He paused. “Brutus ate it.” This comes as no great surprise. Brutus, a St. Bernard he and his wife are temporarily, TEMPORARILY raising, has munched his way through more than dog food. (He is BEAUTIFUL, though. Does anybody want him??). The surprise is that it was one of those foot-tall calculators made for seniors (and apparently dogs).
I reminded him I had the very same calculator and would be happy to pass it along. I prefer one with a tape – don’t trust myself to have entered the right numbers. But I wonder if either of us should really be using a calculator right now. With the current financial crisis, it’s better, I think, to turn off the TV, leave financial statements unopened, and not stop to calculate our current percentage losses. Fixating on negatives leads to more negatives, I think. Do you agree? Anyone else leaving their calculator in the drawer?? Is this a good path to stress relief?
5 Responses
I have been a news junkie lately. But the most satisfying day I have had in weeks was the day I spent taking down the holiday “stuff”,moving around furniture sweeping up all the dust and dead ladybugs in our cabin. No TV, no NPR until 6 pm that night. I think it is good to be informed, but you need a break from all the gloom and doom. Maybe if we ALL stopped listening for a day or two, the whole crisis would begin to solve itself instead of being a self-fulfilling prophecy. Love your new website, Pat!
Thanks, Robin. I agree. I’m all for a free press but also for exercising the right to take a break from it all. When we do hear a gloomy report, a collective “… and I know it’s going to get better” can put a positive spin on that self-fulfilling prophesy. Anyone else?
Hi Pat, I agree! Over Christmas, my brother gave me similar advice–do not open the financial statements for at least six months. So I’m in–only getting out the calculator to balance the checking account, for now. (One thing I don’t need after the stock market drop is an overdraft fee!) And I’ve been a fan of periodic, self-imposed “news blackouts” for some time now. Another balancing act.