How do you keep your cool?

On Saturday, my best friend A and I took our girls to see the Festival of Nations in St. Louis. It was a really hot day, but otherwise the festival was cool. Wood Sprite now wants to dance flamenco and she really enjoyed her Turkish meatballs. Her BFF M bought two ocarina flutes from Ecuador and really enjoyed playing them.

On the way home, however, some guy sideswiped us and really damaged my friend’s brand new car. Other than being jerked hard and scared, we were all thankfully fine, which is the most important part. Car accidents are for me what spiders and snakes are for some people; I have a really hard time not panicking and remaining calm. I don’t even like driving because of some experiences I’ve had in the past. So you can imagine how it was as we sat there waiting for the cops on this hot day.

I was pretty proud of keeping my composure, for the most part, until we got home. I was ready to de-stress in bed with a nap with Wood Sprite, who was also upset (it was also her first accident), when I got a not-nice phone call and it just made it worse. Suddenly the scariness of the day just poured out of me and I shook and cried. So much for staying strong.

I think that I was able to keep cool during the actual emergency, and that the aftermath reaction was natural—and that Wood Sprite witnessing it may even be okay. It’s a human emotion, after all. And we both struggled with sleep that night (and last night; she’s up again right now with me at 4 AM). I helped her meditate and held her, sleeping with her part of the night as we coped with the day’s events. I am just so grateful that all four of us escaped unharmed.

My question to you is, how do you handle such stress—particularly your own triggers—in a situation like this? How do you stay strong for your kids, and do you let it out afterward somehow?

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia