Secure Your Oxygen Mask Before Assisting Others

Post is late this week due to flying the coop from drizzle and cold to heat and sun.  It was during this escape that I discovered my topic for the week in, of all places, the air stewards demo at the beginning of every flight. 
We've all heard the phrase "Secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others," but how often to we adhere to this advice in life?  Not often enough.  Being quite literally at wit's end trying to be and do everything for everyone this week and just survive to the point where my holiday began was almost beyond my ability.  If I had stopped and adjusted my oxygen mask first, it would have been considerably more effective.
Hard to help someone else when you are a) struggling for air yourself b) succumbing to the effects of lack of oxygen or 3) dead.  Also hard to help when overtired, hungry, angry, lonely, stressed or unwilling to delgate or ask for help. Lesson learned.  The peckish are most often pecked.
As established many times prior in the last 29 years of our acquaintance, the Mr. and I do not always travel well.  Our Thanksgiving trip to Hawaii was not the idyllic local and family story one would think - but it is one of our most memorable.  Word to the wise - do NOT drive the road to Hana on a holiday when even the bathrooms are locked.  Whole nother story there...
Many of our family trips have twirled epically in the toilet of travel trivialities leading to minor torture.  No major mishaps, just mounting minor annoyances.
We have finally discovered the holy grail of travel together - copious amounts of adult beverage, loose agendas and lowered expectations.  When we apply all of these items liberally with warm weather, separate queen beds and time for individual activities, we have things to talk about over dinner.  Get enough rest and the frazzled nerves are often abated.
It has only taken 29 years to come up with this equation.  When we were travelling with kids the equation was - indoor heated pool, restaurant they recognized in walking distance of hotel and backup outfits for numerous wardrobe malfunctions.  Seemed we were always changing one or another child's clothing.
Adjusting your oxygen mask can range from adequate self-care - a nap, a bath, a sandwich - to checking to see if you have a vitamin or mineral deficiancy.  It can include knowing when to ask for and accept help with a problem or conflict that is affecting your sleep, stress level and mental status.  Your oygen mask can be a need for exercise, laughter, social contact, solitude or creative endeavors.  The first step is to take a step back and determine what your particular source of "oxygen" is at any given moment.
When the tedious details of life are getting you down, be sure to check your oxygen mask and adjust accordingly.  It may make a difference to those you are trying to assist between getting their mask to function and strangling them with it.