Three years!

One method to deal with stress is to lock it in "the box". The Box is where you put stress that's too much to deal with, so you can deal with it later. The "deal with it later" part is important. Time may heal all wounds, but stress kept in the box makes for neuroses and probably heart attacks. Later, in quiet times when it's safe to do so, stuff comes out of the box, sometimes whether you want it to or not.

It's been 3 years since Susan's mastectomy, the last surgery to remove cancer from her body. Just before Christmas.

I was driving to the store last night, new years eve, thinking over the year past. I was suddenly swept over with all the grief, the pain, the frustration and most of all, the fear I had put in the box in 2010. I pulled over to the side of the road and wept. After five minutes the storm passed. I dried my face and drove on to the store.