I’m sure you have heard people complain that they feel overwhelmed. What is whelm? And why is the term always “overwhelm” not just plain old “whelm?”

Lately, I have definitely been feeling that my level of whelm has been extensive.

Going back to Middle English, the verb “whelm” is defined in the dictionary as “to submerge, engulf.” As a moderate student of the English language, I have never understood why one must append “over” to “whelm” to make it sound even worse.

Whatever…

Let me say that I have been busier at work than I have ever, ever, been in my life. I am able to do what I need to do, but the level of demands for my attention and the number of things I am asked to do, in addition to attending endless meetings are intense.

I AM employing skill in forcing myself to declare and end to the day within reason — not working late into the night to return before the first rooster crows in the morning. That is, I am putting in about ten-hour days (including 15 min lunch), which is the limit I have established for myself. I am loathe to check email when I get home, and am downright grateful that I do not have a smartphone that could easily suck me into the practice of always working from wherever you are.

But I know that the level of energy I am expending at work is showing… I get things done, but by the time I get home, I am absolutely wiped out. For example, the other day, I mowed the lawn soon after arriving home from work. I returned inside afterwords and got a glass of cold water and sat down on the sofa to drink it and cool down. Then I must have fallen asleep because the next thing that I remember was waking up about 2am with a puddle on the floor where the water must have spilled.

Another way that I know that I am expending a lot of energy at work is that I am losing weight. Not a lot, but I can tell. I have to admit, I’ve been so busy, I have been skipping meals. Good for the avoidance of calories, but bad for overall health and nutrition.

To remedy that, yesterday when I arrived home from work, I called a friend and met her to take a long walk on a beautiful, sunny, pleasant autumn afternoon. I needed that. When I got home, I sat myself down and prepared a salad with grilled chicken. Yes, I can eat (sorta) healthy if I want to… but not having my spouse at home finds me reverting to old bad habits that I did when I was single. Prepared foods, frozen/microwaved stuff, cereal, or just skip it.

I really miss my spouse as he continues to tend to his mother in Pittsburgh. I will pick him up this coming weekend, and I can’t wait to have him back home. I miss him. Having him to care for, prepare meals for, and do things with — even if it’s just watching TV — is far better than what I do when he is away. The hole in my heart grows each day of his absence.

Well, that’s enough rambling here at 0400. Time to get dressed, pull on my motorcycle boots (not sure yet which ones), prepare a lunch, gear up, and ride the Harley to work. Yippie — another day of whelm!

Life is short: read all you want about a balanced work/home life… the trick is, you gotta do it!