Daddy needs a time out

To say things have been rough around here lately is an understatement. As I lay around losing my sense of humor and muscle tone (all the while successfully incubating our offspring) - my husband has had to shoulder the burden of anticipating residency, taking care of me and getting our house ready to put on the market this Wednesday. I know this has been incredibly hard on him, not only have his partner in crime sitting on the sidelines but the short time lines and endless to-do lists are suffocating him. Did I mention he works? Oh right. He works. Lots of hours. FOR FREE.

Jeremy usually has it all together. Our life has always teetered the razor thin edge of blissfully happy and financially ruined. Medical school was tough, but he was always one step ahead - forbidding me to use the word "overwhelmed" in our house.

Except for in April 2008, when he finally cracked under the pressure. It was a memory that will play over and over again on my mental highlight reel and just to make certain of it - I wrote it all down.

Most men have a steel exoskeleton and infinite capacities for stress - until, one evening, they eventually crack. Below is evidence of one such cracking of a strapping male, as witnessed by his gorgeously attractive female companion.

Enter scene: A quiet night, unmarried male and female companions prepare for slumber. It's dark except for the TV and the light in the laundry room. Gorgeously attractive female is sitting on the couch watching TV. She asks strapping male figure if he could grab the whites out of the dryer.

Dryer: [bzzzt]
Strapping man gets up to go to the laundry room 

Jeremy: [light grunts]
Me: Are you okay in there?
Jeremy: [laughing a little to himself]
Me: Hello?
Jeremy: [hysterical laughing]
Me: What the hell is wrong?
Jeremy: [Thud!] …[more laughing, louder and higher pitched laughter]

I walked over to the doorway of the laundry room to find him on his knees, clutching the CLEAN whites that he dropped ALL OVER THE FLOOR. He was laughing hysterically – tears streaming down his face – it appeared to be some sort of breakdown.

Me: OMG what is wrong with you?
Jeremy: I...I...they fell.
Me: Who fell?
Jeremy: The... [laughing hysterically] the...SOCKS!! [crying laughter tears into my white skivvies]
Me: I think you are having some sort of mental breakdown.
Jeremy: I... I.. I just couldn’t carry.. carry it all.
Me: So what!?
Jeremy: Well.. well...[laughing and gasping] will you hel- help me pick them up...
Me: No. Stay right there... I am getting the camera.

I returned with the digital camera as the love of my life continued to hyperventilate, laughing uncontrollably. I sat on the floor right in front of him and proceeded to take his picture, several times.

Jeremy: Oh god you're going to tell people about this!?
Me: I sure am. Why do you think I am taking these pictures? No one’s ever gonna believe this one.


He stands and tries to gain his composure, but instead hunches over the washer and continues to laugh hysterically.


Jeremy: So will you help me carry these?
Me: Nope. You know there is a new invention called a wash basket. Some people put laundry in it.
Jeremy: [giggling and dropping white socks] I'll just... I’ll make two trips.

As I followed him [still giggling] into the bedroom, picking up the dropped socks behind him, I wondered if this was the day we would both look back on as the day that he lost his mind.

Let me just tell you that the last few weeks have been 500 TIMES WORSE.

With a lot less laughing.

But since I know from experience that his official breakdowns tend to include socks - I've been having my mom take care of our laundry.

Particularly... the whites.

I love my husband infinitely more every day and if you don't think that's possible - come on over and you'll see why.