By Debbie Olujobi

Life is a gift, so is peace and good health. These three are never as appreciated as when they take or attempt to take a  leave of absence. December 2013 is not a month I will remember with much fondness. I took what should have been a holiday and ended up sick for 11 out of the 16 days of my break.

It didn’t help that I decided to work through my illness and came back home feeling like a rickety wooden bridge. If December was a person, I would conclude it hated me as no sooner did I get back that my children became ill, one by one we all took turns in hospital and the festivities passed in a sick blur. My nearest and dearest concluded I was what was wrong with me. In his words “You just don’t know when to stop; you work through everything”. Just a few days before christmas I was nursing a headache so fierce, I had to sit in the dark; my eyes just couldn’t take the light. By the time we got my doctor on the phone; all I could do was whimper and shed tears from pain that shot through every nerve; I was convinced I had done myself in!

Time seems to have become the taskmaster that seems determined to send  people to an early grave at worst and a sick bed at best. A couple of days later; the headache had gone but I was drained; my range of movement was limited to bed and bathroom and self pity took over. All my plans were of course shattered, I had missed the opening of my newest store and all my fancy christmas and new year plans for my family were cancelled. A timely phone call from an old friend I hadn’t seen in years put everything in perspective. He had called because I came to mind and he just wanted to check in. He was also recovering from a similar breakdown and we got into a discussion about the poor quality of life success had afforded us. He remembered his middle class father taking siesta everyday, getting home in time for dinner with his family and a sunday outing every week. His parent’s garage was not littered with the exotic cars he had acquired, neither did they live in the choicest part of town like he did yet for all their moderate means, they had a better quality of life than he did. I could relate; rest has become something of an alien and sleep only happens out of exhaustion.

If anyone had suggested a three week break to me I would have laughed them to scorn but three weeks is exactly what my body demanded to regroup and recuperate. During those three weeks life went on; even my company that had put me on the unending treadmill ran perfectly. I had a lot of time to ponder in those three weeks and my husband certainly had a lot of questions to ask. He just couldn’t understand how someone could work through headaches and high temperatures yet keep going. He had seen the breakdown coming and had been voicing his concern for weeks but my response was that I had scheduled a week off at the beginning of the new year. Sadly my body did not get that memo and I came to a stop like an engine running on air. Not surprisingly but thankfully nothing major was found though I was treated for malaria and a throat infection but I took away a lesson I wanted to share with you all. Its especially appropriate given that we are beginning a new year.

The lesson is easy, its simple and we all know it even though we choose not to apply it. “Life goes on”. Life went on all the while I was ill; even if the worst had happened; life would still have gone on. I have no doubt my loved ones would have been devastated but life would still have gone on. I just started gradually easing myself back into the scheme of things and I am being a bit more responsible with my time. Being hard working is an admirable trait but working oneself to an early grave or stroke is just plain stupid. Life has to be balanced with attention paid to rejuvenation, relaxation as well as hard work. My physical well being is just as important as my financial well being; its a lesson I learnt the hard way. I can still remember my children crying as I was being rushed to the hospital and I had no words of comfort to give them. All I managed to say was how much I loved them.

So has my emotional or intellectual make up changed? No, not really! I will be lying if I denied being a success driven individual. I enjoy work, I like creating things, I love projects from concepts to actualisation. What I needed was a reality check and that I got. I have finally seen the wisdom in an equitable management of time if I am to enjoy my life and not endure it. Truth is everything can wait; a little imbalance in the body will press the brakes of success and may even change the course of history for our loved ones! I hated being helpless but I was glad to surrender all to God; I needed to let go of all my worries and get in tune with my maker; I was His creation in need of major repairs. I don’t have a resolution this year; I am just taking it easy, living one day at a time, at a pace I can manage. I will continue to do my best in all of my endeavours but it wont be at the expense of my health or my family. December 2013 taught me that balance is key in all things.