Last week I wrote about one of my horrific days…the kind that makes you want to run screaming into a rushing river with rocks in your pockets, á la Virginia Wolf. “To the Lighthouse!” I yelled as I made my way out the door that night (OK, so sometimes I get a little silly after a hard day).

I went home after that extra-special veterinary experience with the knowledge of a little respite headed my way. I’m now in the Florida Keys at a relative’s house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, seemingly worrying about little more than when everyone’s going to wake up so that I can get my butt out on a boat.

But I’m still not completely free of my work stress—not by a long shot. That day left an impression so indelible it seems even a family-themed boondoggle with lots of cooking and boating and beautiful underwater scenery (my favorite things) can’t dislodge it from its foothold in my psyche.

I’ve done my yoga. I’ve gone for walks and runs. I’ve emptied my mind in the early mornings by the water’s edge. But when all else fails, I have to write about it. That’s why I had the foresight to wrap my laptop case in plastic and store it in a safe spot in the hold when we stocked the boat for the ride down from Miami. And that’s how I came to be sitting here, writing on a computer with the sound of the water as my only distraction.

Chances are you, too, have your own strategies. Might I recommend keeping a blog as an alternative approach for those really exceptional days? After all, vets haven’t cornered the market on stress—much as my self-centered life might tend to persuade me otherwise.

I know this post isn’t very vet-centric or especially thought provoking and comment-worthy. But thanks again for being around to read this occasional bit of self-indulgent catharsis. Sometimes you guys are even better than yoga…