Change Your Socks!

Paul and I spent a delightful day with our son Sam. We covered a lot of ground...but maybe my favorite moment was when I  learned a little tidbit about him that I didn't know....something that makes me smile.

Sam is a PhD candidate at Boston University and pays his rent by teaching a writing class to undergrad students.  Whenever his students get panicky about a paper or e-mail him stressed out in the middle of the night...he calmly tells them to "change their socks." Of course it goes along with other academic, more scholarly advice...but he finds a way every semester to weave this bit of wisdom into his class...or individually to any student who needs it. It forces them to pause....reframe....and put things in perspective.  And it just feels good to have clean dry socks. 

It's something he has practiced since the same advise was told to him by his high school English teacher his senior year.  

I love it....and may just give it a try!