On Being Distracted, or Why I Haven't Posted Updates for Weeks 16, 17, and 18

I'm not sure how I got three weeks behind in my weekly updates. Perhaps I didn't want to admit that I was behind, but alas, here I am, wondering where the three weeks went and what exactly we did. They probably went something like this, except for the toddler parts, but the same idea. Let's just say that "If you Give a Mom a Muffin..." is a line that is often repeated in our house when I'm walking around wondering what I was meaning to do...




 

 If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of
Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on
Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

Based on If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

At any point in any given day, I could write a new version of this scenario. For instance, just now I went upstairs to find a book that I wanted to quote in today's blog post, and when I went upstairs I found the package of new sweaters that I had ordered earlier in the week.  So I took the sweaters out and tried them on.  Then I changed my outfit to suit one of the new sweaters. Then I came down to finish the blog post and had forgotten the book that I originally went upstairs to retrieve. I think this must be a permanent state of mind because at the moment, there is NO ONE HOME to say "Mom!  Mom!  Mom!" and distract me from my original purpose. I suppose I am so accustomed to being interrupted, that I've actually now built it into my psyche.

Now...If only I could remember what I was originally planning to write.

So don't worry...you're not the only one who does this. There is at least one other person who does and is willing to admit it. Now, if YOU would admit that you are this easily distracted, it would make me feel  a lot better.