When I was a kid, I would leave the room at the point in television shows when the tension became unbearable. That’s probably not all that unusual, except that I found sitcoms to be the most stressful kind of show. People were going to be embarrassed! Their mistakes were going to be revealed to the people they least wanted to see them!

To help with the perpetuation of the species, my family mercilessly mocked me for this trait. At least, that may have been their motivation. I can now sit through an entire show without fleeing to a safe, nonthreatening environment.

The desire to flee stays with me, though. If only I could in fact run away from tough situations, knowing that when I came back everyone would have had a laugh and worked it all out.