I doubt the person credited with that expression didn’t have a good grip on reality. Recently, I have learned that the “small stuff” becomes “big stuff” when it happens in a condensed time frame. As things pile up, what should have been a “small thing” can become a major annoyance or worse. Yesterday, I felt like Peter Finch in the movie Network. I was on the brink of screaming out my window: “I can’t take it anymore!!”

I am usually very even-tempered. Unlike Daniel and my sister, I can take most frustrations in stride. But these past few days have been pushing me. It ma...