Waiting on the phone to ring.....

.....while twisting yourself in knots.

I seem to be doing a lot of that these days. Wound so tight sometimes that I don't even really feel the tight bands of anxiousness until I consciously will myself to relax. Then and only then do I feel the immense pressure.

Or so I think.

Hell, I've probably shrunk a couple of inches just by unconsciously trying to cope. Ugh.

So what do you do to try and relax?? (And yes - this is a bit related the my earlier stress post).

I've tried to regulate and deepen my breathing.

To concentrate on lengthening my spine.

To laugh more (I am working on a Moose Chalupa post inspired by Harvey - who always makes me laugh... And if you're not reading Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper you should be. Heh.)

I've had wine.

I am re-reading Harry Potter 6.

I am really trying....

But a lot of the time I feel like I have a giant rock on my chest. The other day I had the whole "tight bands with shooting pain" combination for about 4 minutes that I did lamaze breathing (transition) through while stage whispering:

"Shhhh, honey." pant-pant-pant-pant-pant "Stop talking to Mommy. Just shut up for a minute." pant-pant-pant-pant-pant-pant "You have to shut up now...." pant-pant-pant-pant-pant-pant-pant "Mommy is going to be fine if you will just stop asking questions....." pant-pant-pant-pant-pant "Shhhhhhhhut up - please, Honey!" pant-pant-pant-pant "Shhhhhh....."

To K. (While she performed her *own* little Chinese fire drill). Lovely. Dying* words to my eldest daughter? "Shut up, please." Nice. I'll expect my Mother-of-the-Year award in the mail shortly. (Not.) But at least I said please, I guess.

*And for the record, I *know* I wasn't dying. I am 35 for heaven's sake and perfectly healthy. It was just a reaction to stress I think. And maybe a taco I had for lunch.

And here I sit. Waiting for another call. Harry Potter open in front of me and cocktail hour just 3 hours away. That should be working.... But in case I've missed something, any suggestions?