I am pretty smart, I think. I have 2 + 2 down pat, can balance my check book, and have a good grasp on making a mean grilled cheese. I don’t think anyone that knows me would say that I was a flake or airhead. Well… maybe… but they don’t count.
Lately, however, something is going on. This is more than preggo brain – which I experienced the entire 5 years I was having children – more than complete exhaustion, more than just plain absent mindedness.
This is overloaded mommy brain at its best. Complete with embarrassing results, explanations to more than one person, and the “I am so so sorry!” sentence being thrown around more than, “Will you be my nanny?”
Dare I say it? I just feel plain DUMB!
Case study #1: Last week, I had a very important, had to be on, could not miss conference call. The notice was one day before the call. I can not even blame a time lapse. I set my alarm on my phone and my computer. I wrote it in INK on my calendar AND in my blogging book. No way I was missing this one!
So the next day, at 2pm right on the dot, the exact time of the call, my alarms went off – I think scaring the dog – the ink on my calendar – possibly still wet – was blatantly screaming at me “CONFERENCE CALL AT 2PM… E S T!”
I live in Texas. Central Standard Time land. I missed the call over a letter. E versus C. One hour too late. Totally, ridiculously, amazingly DUMB!
Case Study #2: Today is Thursday. Yesterday was Wednesday. The pattern has never changed, at least not in my lifetime, and probably will never change. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and well, you know the rest.
Apparently, however, my overloaded mommy brain does not. Because, yesterday, on Wednesday, I put a video post on my blog about a very important campaign I am involved in, that as of yesterday, readers had 48 hours to enter a giveaway. The giveaway ends Friday. Yesterday was Wednesday. Last I checked, that was 72 hours away. And posting on Wednesday that Wednesday was Thursday was just not the brightest thing I have ever done. Like ever.
Case Study #3: All week we have been telling Sarah, who is having a hard time understanding why Katie gets to go to school but she does not, that Thursday night we would get to go to her preschool and meet the teacher. Every night, while waiting outside of Katie’s kindergarten to pick her up, she askes, “Mommy, is it time to go meet my teacher?”
“On Thursday, honey. On Thursday.”
This morning, Thursday, I told her that we had to take Katie to school, come home and clean the house, go get some new fish, go get Katie, go to McDonald’s for Happy Meals, go to gymnastics and then, finally, after all this time, go to her meet the teacher.
She has been so excited all day!
After all of the other errands were done and it was time to go, we loaded Sarah and her sisters into the car, buckled them in, made a huge deal about meeting her teacher, and started the car.
And then I picked up the card with the time, date and her room number, which was highlighted clear as day. My daughter, who is registered for Monday, Wednesday, Friday preschool… had meet the teacher on WEDNESDAY.
As previously established… that was yesterday.
I don’t know if it is old age or just plain stupidity, but my brain is clearly on overload. It is dumping out pertinent information in an effort to survive. And leaving in its path of purging a confused, embarrassed, always making excuses and apologies for myself, woman.
Trying desperately to figure out what day of the week it is!
**Originally published 8/25/11- and it STILL applies! **
I think every Mommy goes through this and it only gets crazier as they get older. Coordinating schedules is crazy – if I ever figure out a foolproof way of remember what day is when and what we have to do on that day I’ll package it up and make a ton of money – until then post it notes and prominent calendars (usually on the correct month) are all I have to offer.
Thanks for the chuckle and to know I’m not alone.
Elinor
http://www.schoolbusdays.blogspot.com