Grace's Nightmare

Last night, Grace woke up screaming around 2:00 a.m. Figuring she was having some kind of terrible, horrible nightmare, Spencer hurried in to assuage her fear. When he got in and asked her what was the matter, she said (in tears),

"Mommy took away my popsicle."

And there you have it, folks. The deepest, darkest fear of a two and a half year old.

"There's an app for that..."

I have a tendency to over analyze every interaction I have with people. I always worry that I don't come off as I intend (which I'm pretty sure does occur at least 85% of the time...) and I frequently stew for days over stupid things that somehow escape my mouth. Guilt, sadly, has been one of my longest and most faithful of companions. We know each other well.

As I sat pondering my latest social blunder, I racked my brain for a way to keep myself from saying dumb/insensitive things to people so often. Since simply never talking to anyone ever again seemed a (*sometimes*) appealing, though impossible and utterly ridiculous answer, I knew I had to come up with something better. :)

And then it hit me, straight from Pavlov the psychologist himself, app shock therapy. Okay, I know it sounds weird, but let's consider the possibilities together. Anna walks up to a friend/family member/husband/daughter/acquaintance/grocery store clerk in a bad mood. Instead of allowing her calm, more rational self to come out and socialize, her bad mood completely takes over and she gears up to say something terrible that will haunt her for days.

And instantly, *shock.* No dumb words; no regret.

Come on, doesn't it sound just a little bit appealing? :) It could quite possibly "condition" the crankiness right out of me! And it's not like the shock would even have to be that strong. Just a small, imperceptible jolt that could alert me that I was heading into "potential-guilt-for-days" zone and nip it right in the bud. The possibilities are endless, really. You could buy the shock therapy app catered to your very own weaknesses and insecurities.

I'd buy it. :)