Guilt Buster

 Primordial guilt... Ever feel that no matter matter what you do, or don't do, somehow, you did the wrong thing or the result will be screwed up? And if, by chance, you feel blameless, then someone supposedly more astute confirms your culpability. Urrrhh. But wait ... You can go from being the guilty party to using the "guilt parry" with a "Stress Doc" guilt buster. And it even works on the mother of all guilt complexes!

 Around five years ago, at the end of an early December visit to my parents in Florida, I like so many voyeuristic others, was intently watching the Kennedy Smith rape trial heating. (Isn't it nice to see constancy in human nature?) I had a couple of hours to kill before heading home. My mother had previously announced that she would be leaving early for a tennis date and would not be able to go with my father and me to the airport. Anyway, I'm transfixed by the tube. And while I'm in this voyeuristic state, my mother unbeknownst to me, enters the room. She must have been hovering in the background for a while. For when I didn't acknowledge her presence she, in a most suffering tone, cries out, 'What! You're not going to say good-by to your mother." Wavering between apology and apoplexy, I suddenly cry out, "I can't ... I'm paralyzed with guilt."

 A faint smile slides across her face. A moral victory for me, at least. And the moral of the story: when it comes to guilt, don't painfully burst a gut ... try playfully busting the guilt!

 Just remember... "practice safe stress!"