This is really tough, I know.

I have too much time on my hands, and not enough energy because pain deprives me of sleep. My thoughts easily turn negative -- and stay that way.

If there's a foolproof method to break that I haven't found it, but sometimes what works is to decide to come to Mayo Connect and try to cheer someone else up. Nobody gets too many kind words.

That helps others, and it helps me.

But sometimes I'm just too tired, too sleep-deprived, and just too damned cranky for that. I just endure.

I really try to avoid re-hashing old mistakes. There are no do-overs, and even if there were, what would really be different? Yeah, I wish I'd had the nerve to ask out the pretty blond girl from Advanced Biology my senior year. Jan S., if you're out there, would you have said yes?

What if, if only. What if, if only. Talk about the highway to frustration!