“Frenzied!”

This year, my husband has been collecting illnesses like a hooker collects diseases!

Multiple emergency room visits and innumerable doctor appointments has warranted his hospitalization for the next six weeks!

Ugh!

Nicholas unexpected and untimely “medical sabbatical” has meant that my already hectic routines and adrenaline-filled schedule has become more demanding than ever because I just inherited his entire “honey do” list, obligations, and chores that were once assigned, delegated, and/or defaulted to him.

Mercy!

Now, I am subjected to nuisance interruptions such as pumping gas, mowing the lawn, shuttling our daughter back and forth to school, escorting her to numerous after-school programs, paying bills, balancing checkbooks, buying groceries, purchasing “goody” treats for daddy’s little girl, taking the vehicles for maintenance, overseeing the fall landscaping projects, laundering clothes, accompanying Tuesday (our dog) during her environmentally-friendly dumps, participating in library programs, keeping medical and dental appointments, attending consultations with teachers, plus incorporating hospital visits, resolving unforeseen emergencies, picking up prescriptions from the Naval Base, playing “handy man,” and managing a litany of other laborious odds and ends required to ensure that the Giggetts’ household runs without a freaking hiccup or a hitch.

All of this on top of building a business?

Pleeze.

Who has the time for caring for sick relatives, caring for the house, caring for children, caring for animals, caring for the job, caring for friends, caring for church, caring for maintenance issues, caring for leisure, caring for a paycheck, caring for ourselves, caring for preparing nutritious meals, caring for the lawn, caring for de-cluttering the attic and garage, caring to update Facebook, caring to be polite, caring to exercise, caring for the snooty House Wives of Atlanta, caring for the underprivileged, or even caring if the world implodes or not?

Repeatedly stretched from sunup to sundown, who has the damn time to care?

Prior to my husband’s hospitalization, always carved out a “window of time” from my obligatory activities to slow down, unwind, and recover from the ordeal of laboring by incorporating some low-energy activities such as reading, writing my weekly column, answering fan mail, engaging in some political bickering and gossip with allies, indulging in my thrift store obsession, or by re-arranging the décor of our house.

Not anymore!

As a quintessential domestic goddess, friends would always marvel at my innate ability in having the cleanest and most decorous house in the neighborhood. Others would express amazement on how I could frequently prepare scrumptious, home-cooked meals and desserts, or wonder when I had the time to rake the yard, prune the garden, in addition to, traveling hinder and yonder for business.

Others speculated that I was either an insomniac or a reincarnation of “Wonder Woman.” Most inquired as to why I haven’t inherited a variety of ailments such as stress, heart disease, hypertension, gastric problems, depression, exhaustion, and a sleep disorder resulting from balancing a demanding home life, a hectic work life, and an assortment of extra-curricula activities.

Many speculated that I was ingesting a “purple” pill and wanted the name of my doctor so that they could get some, too!

(Laugh out loud)

With amusement and with a tinge of Martha Stewart’s psychological sophistication, I replied to my inquisitive comrades that multi-tasking was certainly a “cinch” and that all one had to do was to eliminate their “energy vampires” which would then enable them to employ better time-management and execution skills.

Seriously?

When I say my prayers tonight, remind me to request that my alter ego’s “condemnable spirit” is replaced with more tolerance and understanding and with less comeuppance.

Here’s why.

Recently, recoiled in disgust upon visiting an acquaintance’s home because this family’s household resembled the most despicable pig sty imaginable.

As an “image-conscious diva,” it was inconceivable to me to fathom how a group of people could actually function, much less live, in such a filthy, despicable, and deplorable state!

Then I had an epiphany!

Being a parent is a highly labor-intensive and demanding job. Perhaps the lack of cleanliness of one’s home is not indicative of a “dereliction of duty” but is merely systematic of time constraints within today’s harried households.

Further, since I am not cognizant of the intimate details of their domicile, I should refrain from being so judgmental about them and the condition of their living situation. For instance, who’s to say as time marches on that my immaculate home and manicured lawn will remain in tip-top shape especially as I try to successfully maneuver, cope, and navigate an onslaught of added responsibilities and demands that’s tumbling towards me?

In the final analysis, realized that I was only capable of ably handling a host of “balls in the air” because my darling and supportive husband was always on stand-by to assist. Without a mumbling word, he shouldered a vast amount of the day-to-day minutia so that I could remain free to concentrate on other matters such as successfully building my business.

Sweet!

Needless to say, I want this hospitalization odyssey to immediately end! Quick chats via the telephone and a hurried hospital visit is not “my cup of tea.” Miss my husband, miss my friend, miss my mate!

Meanwhile, will “put my shoulder to the proverbial wheel” and resume my “frenzied” routines knowing that I am certainly not alone.