anxiety | deborah parise

Wow… the world is full of insecurity, fear, and worry as proved in one of Maxine’s Crabby Road cartoons. Thought I would share this one with you today. Below is what Maxine has learned over the year. Enjoy!

“As we progress through 2015, I want to thank you for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I can’t sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.
I can’t touch any woman’s handbag for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public toilet.
I must send my special thanks for the email about rat poo in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer buy fuel without taking someone along to watch the car, so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up
I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.
I no longer go to the cinema because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.
I no longer go to shopping centers because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan.
And thanks to your great advice I can’t ever pick up a dime coin dropped in the car park because it was probably placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.
I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician!
Oh, and by the way… a German scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mails with their hand on the mouse. Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

P.S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.”

“NOW YOU HAVE YOURSELF A VERY GOOD DAY!! “

It can be difficult to say goodbye to loved ones who have passed, to relationships that didn’t work out, to children going off to college, to sons or daughters moving out of the house/getting married, to active military personnel leaving to serve their country, close friends or relatives who are moving far away, etc. How do we deal with these types of situations when these people have been part of our lives for many years? We have to remember that death is imminent, and in most other cases, people are actually making these choices for themselves. It is natural to experience separation anxiety at first, but we have to learn to let go and become unattached to people. We can remember the good times we shared and wish them well in their new endeavors. People come in and out of our lives for specific reasons, and no matter what, we have to let them be FREE. It should be comforting to know that everything is as it should be. When we change, so will our circle of influence (people we associate with in life). Life comes full circle and we may cross paths again. To overcome sadness and grief, reach out to God and ask for strength and courage. God is always there for us and always will be.