Coping Strategies

Folks have been complimenting me lately about how well I'm coping with things. I'm not going to say they're right, but I do find it easier to do something rather than nothing. There was a time in my life when I was very passive and would just wait for things to sort themselves out. But, as the residents of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi are discovering, that tactic rarely works well. The trick is to do the correct thing, rather than just anything. And I fully admit to working on getting that part of the equation right.

Some of my coping strategies of the past few days:

• Instead of choosing to remain in the dark about my Dad's condition and just waiting for news to appear over my telephone lines, I'm getting very proactive. I've got most of his doctor's numbers in my Treo and have been in the process of calling and/or seeing them to help chart a better course of recovery. Yesterday I met with one of them just to give them information on what's been going on the last week or so. He, in turn, offered to go see my Dad in hospital in a few days. Don't know if that will make a difference, but it makes me feel a tad easier.
• Instead of using my Dad's situation as an excuse to cease my weight loss activities, I've redoubled my efforts and have broken through that plateau. Current losses total 22.5 pounds. I'm still interested in the bike, but that's gonna have to wait a bit.
• Instead of getting angry about the usual political stuff, I've just thrown myself into "Hauptmann" a bit more. The dancing last night at rehearsal was quite fun, and the actor playing my wife is an expert choreographer. "You're a good partner, Tom," she complimented. That's nice to hear, since it's been way too long since I've taken a dance class.
  

I promise more theatrical stuff, really I do! I've just got more things to cope with these days.