I wish Rose were more like her dad. He never seems to internalize stress. He calmly handles emergencies, while I spin mentally and emotionally.

I call this stressing and obsessing, “getting in the maze.” There is nothing productive about going around and around about something upsetting. I have to consciously avoid going into the “maze” because it is very hard to get out of it.

When I feel my brain go into repeat mode, I shake my head to reset it and get busy doing something physical. I take walks, fold laundry, bake something, rearrange a drawer…any task that involves physical movements will do.

Both my children have the “maze tendency.” I do not know if this is due to nature or nurture. Either way, I do not want to be responsible for this unproductive response to stress. My son fights of this negative response. Rose falls right into it…