Rhythmn in the madness

I think we all need a change of topic. Everywhere you turn, the only thing you can hear is Mumbai, Bombs, Terrorists, Politics, Pakistan, the world is coming to an end, Aishwarya Rai and ShahRukh Khan were caught having a clandestine affair and decided to elope. Oh well! you can't really say that last one is not possible. I mean it is Bollywood. And we all need something to take our mind of the carnage that actually happened.
Point to all this rambling is basically that there are a lot of other smaller calamities that threaten to overtake our daily lives. Take the fact that the US is now officially in recession. Of course, ripples of that recession are being felt across the globe. Those who benefitted the most from the booming US economy was the IT crowd of India. I mean, overnight you went from a college grad to one with a plush job with perks never heard of before. You owned a home and two fancy cars by the time you hit 26 and you had the world at your feet. All of this of course did come for a price. Long hours, endless con-calls and the final result - absolutely no family life. My husband is not from the IT sector but rather from the architectural world which keeps equally insane hours at times. And me being a work-from-home mom really miss his company. Just yesterday I realised that he leaves at 8.30 in the morning and on a good day returns at around the same time at night. Then of course you have both me and the baby making demands on his time. Dinner, TV, chit chat, baby duty and before you know it, its 1.30 in the morning and you are dead beat. During the week we hardly get a 2 to 3 hours of quality us' time.
So I really wonder how the IT world will take the increase in working hours. Couple the extended hours with the nagging traffic and you might as well kiss your family goodbye.
I pity the families that have to deal with this. An entire week goes by with you reaching home when your children are asleep. Most of the times, your spouse too will have turned in for the night. So what then happens to the nuclear family. Yes, you have all the Cosmopolitans, Good Homes, Good Housekeepings, Woman's Eras and Feminas spewing gyaan on how to make the best of your family life. But be practical - do you really think a tired couple would be up for a "luxurious scented oil bath after a tired day at work which will guarentee you better things to come" at 1.30 in the morning. I don't really think so.
Can we get by this lack of time. hmmm there are only 24 hours in a day and there are still a gazillion things to do, so don't think there is much of choice but to go with the flow. Finding a rhythmn in the madness may be the key to it all.