Thinking. Lessons from preteen literature.

This week is pretty busy for me. I went to Sydney on Monday for my new book launch, and on Thursday I am running a ginger bread house making evening for about 40 people. It's also been a week where I did a bit of work for SOHI magazine, and in between that are all the usual jobs of keeping everyone fed, clothed and in their right minds.

So as I drove my daughter to her music lesson yesterday, I felt pretty stressed out. 

"What's wrong Mum?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm feeling a bit worried about all the things I have to do between now and tomorrow," I said.

"Hmmm. What exactly are you worried about?" she asked.

"Good question. Probably getting it all right for the gingerbread house thing," I said.

She thought for a moment and then said, "Why don't you do this? Imagine it all going perfectly, and then relax."

I considered a minute and then said, "That's a perfect idea. Where did you get that from?"

"Oh, I read it in the Babysitters Club book yesterday," she said. "I don't know if it works, but it sounds good."

And it did work. I decided to quit turning everything around in my head and stop imagining worst case scenarios, and instead pictured it all going beautifully with no hitches. At which point I took a deep breath, relaxed, and felt a whole lot better.

Who knew that Ann M. Martin would have such useful advice?