Yet Another Moral Dilemma

Some of you may know of my love affair with Day Planners.  My current Planner is my favorite yet.  It's the most beautiful, soft leather in a lovely teal color.  I've never loved a Planner as much as I do this one.  Tragically, it's last page is coming upon us at an alarming speed.  I have a mere three weeks left before it becomes obsolete. 



SIDE NOTE:  My real planner is much more beautiful than this one, but choices are limited when you Google "teal day timer", so use your imagination. 



I was discussing this sad fact of life with Gordon recently, and bemoaning the fact that I'll never be able to find a Planner as good as this one.  Ever the practical man, he asked why I don't use the Calendar on my phone.  "Does your Planner send you a reminder for every occasion?  Does your Planner nag you until you make that credit card payment?"  asked Mr. O'Neil.  I stuttered.  I stammered.  "Well, no.  But please don't blame that late credit card payment on my Precious Planner.  It did its best.  It held that note that I wrote months ago very valiantly.  It's not it's fault that I elected to ignore it.  And my phone does not permit me to write little notes in different colors and fonts.  Let's not lose sight of that perk."

But my words rang hollow, even in my own ears.  I'm fully aware that it's far more practical to step into the New Age of Technology and use the Calendar on my phone.  I mean, my purse really only has so much space in it, and Planner does use a lot of space.  It causes me not to be able to zip my purse properly, which could be a security risk.  Then again, what if my phone crashes?  My Planner never crashes.  It's loyalty and reliability are unparalleled.  Unless of course I lose my Planner, in which case there is no hope of replacing the information. 

Oh gosh.  I could go back and forth for an hour.  I suspect that this may be yet another situation where my hesitance to embrace technology is holding me back.  Need I remind us all of the Great Nook Breakthrough of 2010?  I was firmly and stubbornly against the Nook Movement, I really adore the feel, the smell, the companionship of an actual book in my hand.  But I bravely jumped on the Nook bandwagon and I've never looked back.  Barnes and Noble should actually hire me as a spokesperson for their Nook products because I practically shout my adoration of my Nook from the mountaintops. 

I think we all know the answer here.  Change is painful, but where would we be without it?  Stuck in the dark ages, that's where.  With plain old paperbooks and paper Planners and paper Newspapers and candles for light and probably no coffee because how can you make it without electricity? 

It's time to go forth bravely into the future.  But I'll comfort myself with the fact that I can always step right back into the age of paper and colored pens and handwritten notes if technology let's me down. 

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger. Unless You Are So Crazy That You Must.

I'm veering dangerously close into personal territory here.   Gordon doesn't love it when I make reference to or divulge specifics about our relationship.  But I'm really talking more about myself, more than our relationship so much.

So anyway.  With that caveat in mind, I wish to discuss the concept of anger and sunsets.  Should one actually let the sun go down upon one's anger?  Or is it best to hash it all out and go to bed only when you have come to some type of conclusion?  

Recently, I read a little story about the traits of the strongest marriages.  One of them said that their marriage had survived almost 30 years due in part to the fact that they never went to bed angry with each other. I can't figure out how I feel about this.  It seems like a nice concept, but I have a hard time believing that those couples have never had a big enough issue that it lasts for a period of more than 12-14 hours. 

I can say this.  I am a highly emotional individual.  My initial reaction to almost anything is usually a frenzy of feelings, an emotional tidal wave, if you will.  It sometimes frightens me, the force of my reactions.  I sometimes feel the need to throw myself to the ground, wail and scream and yell and cry.  This is a problem.  It's a problem because this kind of reaction often solicits a not-so-productive reaction from the person on the other side of the wave.  Happily, the feelings ebb and I do return to a state of relative logic and reason.  But it can sometimes take a little while.  However, for the person who likes to deal with an issue immediately and move on, by the time I've come around to sanity, they have moved on, but without a solution.  

I acknowledge that this is not a healthy response.  There is a very strong possibility that I make things worse by flying off the handle in an awe-inspiring fashion.  How much of this is just innate, and how much can I change?  Is this an aspect of myself that I can change, or is it just part and parcel of who I am, a downside of my personality type?  Predictably, probably a little bit of both. 

Anyway.  What I'm looking for is your opinion.  What works for you?