My hair's on fire and that's the least of my problems! Have you ever felt that there were so many things wrong at once, that some outside power must be toying with you? This morning, my computer crashed, AND, so did my daughter’s computer – right before the final paper was due. And no, we have not backed up her computer – why? Because the back up software that we have, is more complicated than the last shuttle that blasted off from NASA. I DARE Bill Gates to make the thing work!

After spending many hours with a technician on the phone trying to fix my computer, I heard the magic words – “this is really weird. You must have some kind of worm that is eating the thing that is supposed to keep the worms out.” Nice. Then, I hired a lovely computer technician to come to my house. He was great… he was here for hours and only charged me for half of his time, which nearly broke the bank. I am buying a brand new computer and all of my children are becoming computer technicians, whether they want to or not.

So, finally my daughter’s computer is up and running. It took so long that she missed her dance and piano classes, but that’s ok. We did manage to pick my son up from a play-date after school, just in time to see that he has a rash from head to foot. Of course, the doctor’s office JUST closed. After talking to a surly doctor “on call,” who didn’t understand why I was calling about a rash, and told me to give the kid Benadryl, which I already was planning, I managed to drive to the closest McDonalds to feed the kids because dinner was not going to happen any other way and at this point, heart disease is the least of my problems.

And, I’m glad I did, because as I peeled out of the drive thru, the brakes started making a noise that made me imagine a large bovine in labor - not that I have ever witnessed such an event. As I mentally tried to think of when I might have time to get the brakes fixed, I started itching in sympathy with my son as I tried to calm my 5-year old who was complaining bitterly about not being able to play “Barbie” on my computer - because of course, my computer, is no more. Ever had a day like that? We all have.

How can we deal with these days?

1. Understand that you are in a crisis. That is different than normal life, and it cannot last forever. It will end. Trust that.
2. Ask for help. You need extra support right now.
3. Share what is happening to you. When people ask how you you are, tell them how you are!
4. Focus on the three most important challenges you are facing and do what you need to do to solve them. Everything else will get swept up in the momentum you create.
5. Laugh, laugh, laugh.
   

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