A Day in the Life of a Stress Case
I get super stressed out when things don’t go the way they should. Since things rarely go the way they should, it is safe to say that I am almost always stressed out. I stress about the big things, I stress about the little things. I guess you could call me an equal-opportunity stresser.
Today, for example, my stress began at 5:15am when I woke up stressed out that I was up before the sun for no good reason. I figured I’d make the most of the early morning hours and hit the gym. The gym was blissfully empty until 5 minutes later when someone came in and decided to blast the television. I started stressing out for the following reasons:
- The noise level was WAY TOO MUCH for 4 o’clock in the afternoon, nevermind the delicate early morning hours.
- I SO wanted to inform the offender that he could listen to the TV as loud as he wanted if only he would invest in a pair of $15 earphones to use in the handy-dandy audio hookup that was so conveniently located on every machine. Unfortunately I didn’t say anything except good morning. And then I proceeded to stress about the fact that I hate confrontation.
After the gym I headed back upstairs to take a shower. I stressed out that even Pantene wasn’t calming my frizz and that a year without Japanese straightening was about 6 months too long. I stressed out wondering when I’d find time to head to the salon for the aforementioned straightening, and stressed that something would go wrong with the 100+ chemicals my Japanese straightening guru used to tame my hair.
As I was stressing about my hair, Maya woke up and my stress factor shot through the roof. We headed to the kitchen where I made Maya’s breakfast, all the while stressing about what to put in her lunchbox. I lectured her on finishing her lunch before eating any snacks offered by her teachers, but stressed that she wouldn’t listen and her lunchbox would come back full again. I stressed that I would smack her silly if it did.
After stressing about work for most of the day, I picked up Maya and immediately started stressing when she asked me, in the span of 2 minutes, what was for dinner and could we go to the park? On the way to the park I stressed about the traffic and my lack of planning for dinner. At the park I stressed about an annoying little brat who kept following Maya around, trying to steal her shovel. I stressed that she was going to whack him on the head with it, and even though he deserved it, I stressed that I thought a little kid deserved a whack on the head.
At home I pulled together some daal, pita bread, and hummus for Maya, with a side of banana slices. I stopped stressing for a minute but then it was time to give her a bath so I started stressing again. Luckily the Pantene got through her tangles better than mine, we agreed on a pair of pajamas with little argument, and I settled her in front of Max and Ruby for a blissful 30 minutes of silence so I could write this post.
Right now I am stressing out that I used the word “stressing” way too many times in this post and I am stressing that you stopped reading this post 5 minutes ago.
There is one thing today that didn’t stress me out, however, and that should be acknowledged:
My new sofa and loveseat came in today. Not only do they look great but the entire process, from purchase to delivery was stress-free. My only complaint? I wish that our old area rug didn’t look so hideous next to the new sofas.
Let the stressing begin…
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
Aaahh it’s understandable to feel stressed. I, too, get frazzled easily. I wish I were able to put things in perspective while they are occurring, that might save me some sweat and tears.
I love your sofa set! It looks so chic and classy!
I thought I’d left my iPod at the gym, so I called the gym and they said no one had turned in an iPod, so then I cried hysterically and self-loathingly for half an hour (I already left one iPod at the gym, I left my camera on an airplane, etc.)
Then I went downstairs and found it on the counter.
This was a VERY relateable post! I stress about time, too. Getting up too early would definitely get me going “Arrgh, what am I going to do now?” I have this weird obsession with managing my time and not wasting any of it.
I promise you, I read till the end of the post and it was quite enlightening. I am a very lazy person with low levels of stress. Loved your new sofa set.
Sigh! Your house is impeccably tidy always. 😐
I stress stress stress all day, too. That’s mostly for myself I can’t imagine having to stress for other people as well. You’re doing wonderfully 🙂 Loving those sofas they’re so crisp and classy. The cushions, too.
oh, it’s beautiful ameena!!!
everytime you stress i want you to take a deep breath. and know all is well!!!
I love your new sofa, we got one recently and it is almost the same color as yours but the fabric is different.And I don’t know why I described my sofa! 🙂
great work on the sofa – clearing the way out and then getting this one in.
i’m stressed that my cell stopped working and i had to drive on the freeway for 30 minutes without a phone (just in case something happened). And i’m stressed that my phone is going bad and I dont have it backed up.
normally, i try to avoid stressing but today seemed to be one of those days.
The sofas are very elegant and beautifully set up. Our sofa has child resistence color and its leather covers have withstood liquids and pens and pencils. I have gotten more stressed out this yr than ever before and there does not appear to have an end. I need to go back to Yoga practice…..
deep breaths my love and on a bright note, i have major furniture envy…love the throw pillows too!
Your furniture looks so lovely!!!
I am also someone who stresses verrrrrry easily!! Yoga helps, but only temporarily. The best thing I’ve found so far is to have quiet time each morning to myself each day (like I am right now!).
I’m a huge stressor!
Deep breaths always helps and putting things into perspective help 🙂
Also, that fact that you have beautiful furniture should take all the stress away 🙂
I can be like that too. Mainly because I am a planner and like things to work out how I imagined like you said. Funnily enough, I started writing a post similar to schedules and stress last night that I will be posting later today. Great, or stressed, minds think alike. 😉
LOVE the new furniture!
And I kind of wish Maya had whacked that kid with her shovel. 🙂
I’m going to take a wild guess and say yesterday was not a good day for you. Cheer up, you get to start fresh today.
I can really relate to this post. I was nodding my head when you mentioned using the word ‘stress’ too often… that nearly stressed me!!
What brought me relief from the stress from reading too many ‘stress’es is the pic of the lovely sofa & love-seat. As the saying goes, a thing of beauty…
I love that coffee table. It’s gorgeous
Your living room looks amazing! The sofas and pillows look so good together. Classic and stress-free looking! 🙂
Wow, 5:15 am? That’s dedication. I envy morning gym-goers. When I used to use the gym in my apartment building there was this one girl who would come in and crank up the TV volume to an ear-shattering level. I don’t know if she was partially deaf or just dumb, but it bothered me to no end. (And, no, she didn’t happen to catch my angry stares.) It’s rude, plain and simple. So that stress is totally understandable. But the hair? Mine’s so fine and thin I’d love to worry about straightening it. I guess the grass is always greener…
Well I think it is in our DNA… I don’t think I have not met a woman that does not stres.. well I take back.. there is a girl I know that is soooooooo carefree she stresses me out.
I leave the house every morning stressing if I loved the door set the alram, closed the garage door, turned everything off… just that 5 min of getting out of the house stresses me out more than anything. I worry about Sadie all day… I wonder what would happen when I have a little one.
Ah girl I know how you feel. I have the “stress gene” too. Yes, I believe it is an actual gene that we inherit, usually from our mothers.
Tonight, I suggest you dim the lights so you can’t see the old area run, and enjoy a relaxation sesh on your new (gorgeous!) sofa!
I hate days that start like that, it starts you off on the wrong food! Sometimes when that happens to me I just need to sit back, have a cup of coffee, and just stare into space for 10 minutes. Or just lie down. When I get all my thoughts back together, it doesn’t seem so bad.
i’m a HUGE stressed person too. it really doesn’t take much to get me all out of sorts. but: breathe 🙂 this is what i have to tell myself constantly: everything will be okay and even if X,Y,Z doesn’t happen, is the world going to end?
I don’t stress. EVER.
I stew.
until the pot boils over and then I stew some more. It’s a lot of work to not stress…haha
the funny thing is, in my home, everyone else is allowed to stress, and fret. but me. when I DO, they all freak out. I am supposed to be the calm cool and collected one.
there’s some truth to that saying, happy wife, happy home…something like that.
so i try and work hard at not stewing. Your stories always make me laugh Ameena…and HOLY MOLY your new couches are GORGEOUS! love the pillows too!
have a great stress-free day
Oooo I love your sofa and love seat!!! The pattern on the pillows is gorgeous!!
Girl, you never cease to make me laugh! Thank you for brightening up my day 🙂
I can completely relate to stressing over everything. It runs in my family 😕
Usually I’ll stress over things that I can’t really control… which is a waste isn’t it?
The new sofas look really nice 😀
stress is awful and most of us do it all the time without even realizing we are! no need to stress though-life is good, you have health and a wonderful family and a gorgeous new sofa 🙂
Oh no, low-level stress is the worst! I stress about being stressed too, which is ridiculous. It so hard to stop.
And the couches? GORGEOUS–but they would have me stressing that I’d spill something awful on them within a week 🙂
The new love seat and sofa look fantastic.
I’ve been considering Japanese straightening. My frizz is totally out of control!
I woke up stressed this am too. Something is off. I hate that feeling!
I love the new couches! So pretty 🙂
I’m the same way about getting stressed out about stuff. But then I find myself criticizing those who are close to me when they stress out…always telling them to chill out or take it easy…so I’ve gotten a little better at not stressing, or at least at hiding my stress levels from others 😉
Ahh you know what stresses me out? The word “stress”! I used to be a STRESS QUEEN but then one day I realized that the thing that causes most of my stress is MYSELF. Most of the time it’s just because I don’t feel like doing something and I’d rather be anxious about it as a way of procrastinating doing whatever I have to do. Replace the word “stress” with “challenge” and things are instantly less stressful!
Then again I don’t have a daughter and a husband to stress me out, so what do I know!
Umm your furniture is gorgeous. I absolutely love your style. Love love love.
when i am stressed, i take a step back and think about everything in my life that I should NOT stress about. i LOVE your new sofa and love seat! so pretty!
I’m stressed out because my tongue is usually lodged so far into my cheek and people don’t understand I’m being funny 😉
Love the couch set-up!
Oh stress is like a friend always waiting in the wings. Remember to take a deep breath at least once to help calm you down a bit. It helps me most of the time. At least once small bright point of the day was your new couch and love seat arriving. 🙂
i am someone who gets stressed easily too. just reading your post got me stressed! is that stress by osmosis? stress by association? 🙂
anywho, all i can tell you is that you are not alone. i try to remember to take a few deep breaths or put myself in a mommy time-out in order to get myself back together.
I have a short fuse – more so now that I am a mom. I hate it but I just have to remind myself that life is not the same when children rely on you for everything. Plus, as soon as he smiles at me it makes life OK again. =)
Love the new couch and love seat!!!
I stress about EVERYTHING!! Drives my boyfriend crazy.
The new sofas are gorgeous!! I LOVE them!!
I sure hope you’re not stressing right now Ameena. But in case you are, breath in…breathe out….breathe in….breathe out. (x8) 😉
Beautiful new couch. You’ve got good taste in furniture. Those mini stools are so cute.
I read the whole post from begining to end, hope that helps relieve some stress 😉 I have to admit that I am stress case as well. Today jus on my way to class I allowed, a slow driver, a stoplight, a pedestrian, and my school’s lack of parking spaces to stress me out. Did I mention this all happened within the span of 5 minutes, haha!! I have tried plenty of breathing exercises but they just don’t do trick.
On a stress-free note, your furniture is beautiful it makes the room look very bright and inviting. Thanks for the book suggestion girl, I really want to read the book I have heard great things about it.
I would like to make some destresser recommendations:
1. a cup of your favorite hot tea
2. a huge massage
3. a huge pedicure
4. a vacation to hawaii
5. remember to take me with you as you do all of these recommendations 🙂
I think the rug looks fine with the new sofa and loveseat!
Loud noises totally stress me out too, especially that early in the morning. That is pretty cool you can work out in your building though!
I hope today is better 🙂
omg ameena again you didn’t mention ur sofas to me! they look amazing and i promise i’ll help you find an amazing rug to compliment! they are so william-sonoma, i’m def going to check out this place! can’t wait to see them, i might have to drop by this weekend;0
XOXOXO
I’m a chronic stress case as well. I stress over everything, and when I don’t stress over something, I stress myself over the fact that I should be stressing about it. I look at people who manage to be so worry-free and careless, and I envy them. Clearly I need some work at proper stress management.
Love the new furniture. It looks great.
You know what? Your living room with the new sofas are so gorgeous, I don’t even notice the rug. It’s a nice, calming, neutral color – perfect for calming stress 🙂
Sounds like you’ve had an insane day. I think it’s part of being who we are that we tend to stress over things we can’t control – I mean, gaw, I stress over the traffic on the way to school every. single. day. I mean, I can’t do anything about it, so why worry? At least, that’s what my husb would say (those men). But the guys who blasted the TV – now, that drives me nuts. Especially when the solution of headphones is so easy. Now I’m getting stressed 😉
I hope you have a stress-less (or stress-lesser) day tomorrow!
I’m a professional worrier and stress constantly, so I totally sympathize. I have no suggestions, because I’m still trying to figure out how to de-stress my life!
Absolutely in LOVE with your living room! Love the new sofa and loveseat, and that table is out of my dreams.
Max and Ruby is my savior too! Can’t imagine how many times I have put it on just to get 30 minutes of me time!
Haaaaa!!!!! Your stressing out made me laugh and then feel silly for stressing out about things I do. This is SO a look into the average woman’s mind!