With the addition of each child I have developed more and more ADD tendencies that I never suffered from before. This 4th child has confirmed my diagnosis.
I go through my days never really completing a task. There are SO many small (and big) tasks that I am responsible for, and I find myself constantly getting distracted. Here is a very real scenario:
I'm in the middle of doing dishes when Ryan screams for me. I run to the bathroom to find Jenna has just used the potty and then dumped it on the floor and it got on Ryan. I stick them both in the shower but realize we are out of towels. I grab some out of the dryer which reminds me I need to switch the laundry. We are out of dryer sheets so I hop on Amazon Prime to order some before I forget. I notice there is a tab open on my computer for the Kaiser website from yesterday, which reminds me I need to schedule well checks for the kids. I look at my calendar to find a good date and see that we have a playdate scheduled for the following morning. Yikes, we need to clean the playroom! I send Lucas upstairs to start but he needs the vacuum. Turning on the vacuum wakes up Andrew, so I carry him to the changing table. On the way I notice my watering can. My poor dying plants! Better water them before I forget. Because after all, it's just a couple plants, right? Surely I have time to water a couple measly plants? I head to the sink which reminds me the water is still running in the kitchen for my dishes! I turn it off, which reminds me the kids are still in the shower. I take them out but realize I never started that load of laundry in the dryer. I turn around to do that but realize I left the baby on the changing table.
And around and around I go.
Hours can go by where I'm like this. And nothing ever really gets finished because I'm being pulled in a million different direction. And I've realized it's not always the kids who are distracting me and pulling me away from my tasks. I'm doing it to myself! I could be in the middle of something, and if I suddenly remember I need to do something else, I will stop what I'm doing to go do it. Because if I don't, I will forget.
With the addition of Andrew, I feel like I've lost my ability to focus. I could be having a conversation with someone and I'm smiling and nodding, but my mind is far away. I am thinking about what to defrost for dinner, why another child is crying upstairs, did I remember to buy diapers at the store, what was that errand Adam asked me to do, oh and why is my head hurting?
Do you suffer from ADD brought on by motherhood? Can we form a support group? We can get together and simultaneously start a hundred tasks and never finish them! Join me?
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