Bottled Up

11:32am and Baby (a.k.a. my iPhone) tried to do it again. She tried to commit suicide by jumping off the table. Luckily, she didn't break her cute little face, but she was badly injured. Wrapping her in her pink blankey, I drove straight to Baby's hospital...iRepair. On the road, she began beeping, but I couldn't understand her. All that displayed was a white screen. Almost there baby, hang on! I was trying to be strong for her, I couldn't allow myself to cry...so I bottled it up.

The front door chimed as I stormed through. I ran holding out Baby...

Oh my God, please fix her!!!! I think she's broken! I don't understand what she's trying to say! Look, her screen is white...she's so white!

You're going to have to calm down miss. Let me just take a look and I'll see what I can do.

You don't understand, I've had a bad couple of days. Emotional unavailable men and then just when I thought it couldn't get worse...Baby jumps off the table!

[Cue the snotty crying and hyperventilation]

The repairman officially looks at me like I'm crazy and who could blame him.

You're going to have to give me your iPhone miss, I need to take it and examine what's wrong with her.

Grudgingly, I pass it over to him with shaky hands and he takes her around the corner where he's out of my view. Nervous I think to myself...No one puts Baby in the corner.

Sitting there in a stark room with nothing but a faux leather Ikea couch and out dated magazines, I begin to breathe deeply. I have to gain some perspective and remember all the amazing things that have been happening. I just got my own column appearing every Monday in t.o.night newspaper, Toronto's first free evening newspaper. BIG win for me.

[Melissa's mascara smeared face cracks a smile as she sniffles in snot]

Yes, certainly something to be proud of. The new Sexy Food Therapy site (which isn't published yet) is looking amazing and it's all finally coming together. Hard work, certainly has paid off. Breeeeathe Melissa.

The repair man comes out from around the corner and I whip my head around and stand up to face him. It all happens in slow motion...just like the movies.

Okay, so it's fixed. The LCD screen was broken, but it's okay now.

[Melissa grabs the repairman and hugs him as he awkwardly pats her back]

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Paying the man for his services, I take Baby home. We've both had a long day. Time for some food...

However, I felt tired and was searching for magical left overs to transform. With some beets from my failed Beet Brownie attempt, I decided to make myself my Beet it Love dish. Then I realized I had some cooked rice in a bowl and decided I could make my Comfort Coconut Rice Patties. That paired with a nice green salad? Oh ya...I was good as golden.

Beets and greens are amazing vegetarian sources of building blood. Exactly what most women need during their menses. The rice patties help to tonify the spleen based on Chinese Nutrition Therapy, sedating worry and providing comfort. And after the crazy week I've had, it's exactly what I needed.

I began to think about my friend, Kristen Gale, owner of the 10 Spot Beauty Bar here in Toronto. Recently in her blog, Dating Myself, she came up with a Worry Jar. Writing out worries on little scrap pieces of paper, she threw them into a jar and presto change-o, they were practically gone! The Worry Jar was like a Venus Fly trap! Thinking about it, I thought I would create my own Worry Jar, but because I felt I could use a little more positive in my life, I thought I could create a Career, Melissa & Man Jar. Yup. Four jars that would bottle up my worries and wishes and send them to the Universe.

Hey, it couldn't hurt, right? And no, I haven't lost my mind thank you.

Other than breaking down in front of random strangers, I typically don't cry easy. It might be from my past life in advertising, but I usually have a terrible habit of bottling things up and trying to save face. However, as a practitioner I know that bottling things up is detrimental to our bodies, so I try not to. Old habits die hard, I tell ya. The emotions bury themselves in organs and weakens them. This theory extends to people who've had heart attacks (e.g. from spousal deaths) and to those with major digestive disorders (e.g. from excessive worry). Simply put, our emotions have a major connection to our physical selves.

So maybe, if we can find an avenue like family and true friends who will listen and keep in touch, we should access them. But if we feel like we'll be judged, maybe we should allow our to pens flow and our fingers to type instead. Because while it's okay to feel sad or angry every now and then, letting go of it is even better. After all, I was once told that holding on is the key to suffering and I'd rather not suffer.

So with my jars all bottled up for transport, I've got my wishes and worries set to launch off to the Universe.

Thankfully, Baby is feeling better and has provided one kick ass soundtrack for take off...