Self-Soothing

He could hear the funeral tones of Mozart's Requiem

coming from the parlor.

If Miranda was playing that, he knew the trip hadn't gone well.

He found her curled up in a chair in front of the fire, bundled into 

her favored gray cashmere robe, sipping tea from their grandmother's

best china.

All of her comfort tools, he noted, neatly in place.

Homeport

_____________________

By Aman.the.dark - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49293460

It might not be a concept we’re familiar with nor might we know what
sorts of things might soothe us, but at times when we feel particularly anxious
or distressed, self-soothing can be a useful part of our mental health toolkit.

blurt

Cries Every Girl Knows Way Too Well

A man who had three sisters knew all about women's tears. 

There were the slow, rather lovely ones that could slide down a female

cheek like small, liquid diamonds and reduce a man to begging. 

There were hot, angry ones that spurted out of a woman's eyes like

clear fire and induced a wise man to run for cover.

And there were those that were hidden so deep in the heart that 

when they broke loose and stormed free they were a deluge of pain

beyond any man's comfort.

So he let her be, let her curl into herself on the bottom step while those 

heart-born tears raged. He knew that the hurt that spawned

such a flood closed her off. All he could do was give her privacy, and wait.

Homeport

_________________________

By Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy - Crying tulip, CC BY-SA 2.0,

 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40588066

The female gender, as a whole, is infamous for being overemotional, and for shedding tears when and where tears, quite frankly, need not be shed.

In fact, it seems as if nearly any single thing can trigger us, sending us into a downward emotional spiral (feminism, amiright?). Of course, not all ladies are like this; some women are stone cold walls of non-emotion, and some have their sh*t together. I envy both.

Elite Daily

“Does This Make Me Look Fat?”

"Well. Wow."

"Andrew, you're such a poet. Do I look fat in this?"

"There's never a correct answer to that question. Or if there is, 

no man has ever found it. Therefore..." He raised his glass in toast. 

"I abstain."

"Coward."

Homeport

______________

By Billie Grace Ward from New York, USA - Woman in a Red Dress, CC BY 2.0,

 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74145300

“Does This Make Me Look Fat?” The Best Way to Respond

Picture this.  You are shopping with a girlfriend.  She comes out of the dressing room, turns to you and says, "Does this dress make me look fat?"

Your first impulse might be to immediately say, "No,"  You cringe and feel backed into a corner.  It's a no-win situation.  Before you answer, think about this advice.  Consider what she is really asking.  Don't take this question literally.

Psychology Today

______________

“I don’t go shopping, tagging along

to haul bags or getting asked if some dress makes your ass look fat.”

“Take my word as gospel on this point. You’re the last person I’d want 

as a shopping

buddy. And my ass isn’t going to look fat in any dress. 

Write that down, etch it in your

memory.”

“I got it.”

The Perfect Hope