Sunday recovering

WE'VE HAD AN interesting last few days at Fifth and Maine. We will spare you the details. But let's just say that Mrs. Hart is not a pushover. If you say you will be here at a certain time, you need to be here at that time. The end.

Owning a small business is a huge challenge, as is owning a historic building and having tenants. Sheryl has also been substitute teaching, and for the most part she's really enjoyed it. She doesn't let the few stupid kids get to her, though she does have some great stories.

There is a reason we are still in business five years and counting. It has nothing to do with me. It's all about Sheryl - she runs this place and learned very quickly the ins and outs of retail and how to cater to the market.

There have been a few store customers who thought they could come in here and run her over. They found out very quickly that wasn't happening, and it never turned out well for them.

So it's all about how you handle the stress and getting angry at clueless people.

There are a lot of ways to do this. Some people jump up and down and raise their blood pressure, and solve nothing. Others tend to swallow it up until they explode.

Sheryl isn't shy about venting. It helps. So does her prescription Xanax.

"Having a clear vision of what the problem is and where the person you are angry with lacks makes dealing with your anger easier," she says. "Sometime you just have to call people on their BS in order to stop the madness.

"When you keep enabling a person, you build up resentment and anger with no actual relief."

Sheryl is slow to anger, but once she hits her limit - look out!

"Don't hold on to your anger," she says. "It will eat you alive. The only person that is hurt by that is yourself."

We spent a good Sunday doing yardwork and cleaning. Well, Sheryl cleaned - I watched and slept through a golf tournament and hockey game. We watched Tucker hide from the thunderstorms and just basically recovered from life. I also took a rare Saturday off and played golf with my old boss, Don Crim. I still can't play golf very well. But we had a blast.

I don't think weekends or days off are for recharging - I'm exhausted. But I feel great. Emily is visiting today and I just realized the summer schedule for gigs, Gus Macker and life itself is quickly filling up.

Letting it all out is a good thing!