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c/behind-the-smile•the_elliotthe_elliot•1mo ago

DAE feel like the birthday party smile is a full time job?

At my kid's party yesterday, I was laughing with the other parents while inside I was just counting the minutes until I could be alone. My husband had a work emergency and missed the whole thing, so I was running the show solo with a fake grin plastered on my face for three straight hours. How do you handle it when you have to be 'on' for people but you're completely drained inside?
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3 Comments
charles_mitchell
That "fake grin plastered on" is the worst. I try to find one small, real moment to focus on, like a kid's genuine laugh, to recharge for a minute. It gives the performance a tiny bit of real fuel.
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the_thea
the_thea1mo ago
Totally! I've started doing that with boring tasks too, like finding one interesting thing in a pile of paperwork to make it feel real.
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kimmurphy
kimmurphy1mo ago
My old retail job had me counting ceiling tiles during slow shifts... found 127 in the produce section. That weird focus trick kept me from zoning out completely.
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