Being Capable: Lucille Ball & my unfabulous face. (VIDEO)

Here’s a quick unexaggerated breakdown of last week: It was challenging. Ok, IT WAS HELL. I repeat: UNexaggerated.

For starters, Hubby was in Paraguay for 10 days – TEN DAYS (?!?!?!) – on a mission for Operation Smile. (Off the subject, consider donating to Op Smile… it really is an incredible cause.) I realize and appreciate that Hubby’s overseas mission work is very saint-like of him… but it doesn’t negate what I’m about to describe: We were in the middle of a kitchen update (new counters, new floors and a much-overdue gasline installation) and had no kitchen, no running water, no decent place to settle and no quiet… Both – BOTH – of my girls were sick: fever, snot, crying, fever, snot, crying, coughing, fever, snot, crying, coughing, not sleeping, fever, snot… you get it. Was it imperative for Hubby to be away NOW?!? (I tell ya, he sure knows how to dodge things. I’m coming back as him in my next life.)
So I spent the entire last week coordinating workers in our kitchen, unsuccessfully repairing falling sheets of plastic between our kitchen and living room so that dust wouldn’t spread through the house, clearing dust from smashed old tiles that did spread throughout our house despite my efforts, piling pots and pans and dishes and flatware in my bedroom and on my dusty dining room table, obtaining bottled waters (since we didn’t have drinking water), making sure everyone got fed and received appropriate medication (Infant Tylenol) if needed… and not sleeping on account of two little girls waking up in the middle of the night crying about every hour because they felt like junk (and probably also because they missed their daddy).

Again, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. It was all me… 24/7 baby.

On account of most women/moms dealing with situations like this at one point or another, I unforgivingly remind myself to stop complaining and just power through. There’s a reason that women are mothers… men couldn’t handle it. We can. For added inspiration, I thought of the incredibly-amazing and tireless single moms who do this kind of thing week after week and month after month (those chicks are warriors, I tell you). Another warrior? The late, great Lucille Ball (my most favorite classic comedienne of all time). Check out this quote that she apparently said once… something I saw on Women of History’s Twitter feed of all places:

“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do.”

THE MORE YOU DO, THE MORE YOU CAN DO.

Wow. So true. I knew there was a reason why I always loved Lucy. (Even though I’m probably taking her words totally out of context, but who cares. It worked for me. It helped me.)

Between imagining the unparalleled comical chaos that Lucy would unquestionably create if she were in my shoes, I turned out to be one productive son-of-a-gun. I don’t remember most of it (on account of being a zombie teetering on the edge of illness and downing cup after cup of coffee to make it through the afternoon with my eyes open) but I do remember trying to handle things (until my mom came to rescue me for 3 days near the end of the week).

THE MORE YOU DO, THE MORE YOU CAN DO.

Last week was like a mad housewife boot camp, but I pushed my stamina beyond what I thought was possible just for the sheer experiment. If I can do this, I can do anything. I will tell you now: I truly feel like I can do ANYTHING. We all made it out alive, have a semi-new kitchen, have less snot and no more fevers and Hubby is finally back home. From here on out, life’s gonna be cake (or at least the next week will).

So when times get crazy, think of Lucille Ball’s words of wisdom:

THE MORE YOU DO, THE MORE YOU CAN DO.

We are on the upswing… except for the casualty you’re about to watch in the video below. Hey something’s gotta give. Beware: