Today, I got home from a hectic day of work and kid stuff, and found that I'd left the milk sitting on the kitchen counter all day. On the good side, the gallon jug was almost empty. On the bad side, I was hoping that I'd retrained my brain a little better than that. My sibs and I (one in particular) joke about the gene that causes us to do things like that... walk out of the house with the stove still on, or put our shoes on the wrong feet.
I thought I'd overcome it. I am ruthlessly organized with the things that (probably) don't matter, to the point that I'm replacing ADD with OCD... every task has steps, that have to be taken in order. First, you get the Ovaltine and cereal out of the pantry, along with the lidded cup and straw. Then, you put them on the counter, get the spoon and bowl out, and pour the Ovaltine and cereal. You aren't allowed to get the milk out till you're ready to pour... straight in the bowl/cup and then back in the fridge. That way, you don't leave it out. The Ovaltine and cereal are on the counter every day at lunchtime, and I pick them up then, if I notice them. But the milk? No! It never hits the counter, so I can't leave it there, right? Nope. Wrong. 2 inches in a gallon spoiled today because my foolproof method isn't foolproof.
What concerns me isn't the spoiled milk. What worries me is that I think I may have passed this gene onto my kids. Big T is "spacy" and "distracted" in class, and struggles to complete his work. He can't see the forest or the trees as he walks through them, because the leaves make such a nice crunching sound, and wouldn't a picnic be nice, and the sky is blue, and blue is the color of Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee is a Camaro, but I like Mustangs better. What trees, Mom? Every time I go to my husband with my worry, he shuts me down (but he didn't grow up like this! he just doesn't understand!) with "ADD is overdiagnosed, and he's just five"... both of which are true, I guess. But oh boy I hope he outgrows it. I hope, I hope, I hope.
Little Missy, on the other hand, is almost careless or defiant with her memory, so I hope that it is just age and personality. She tosses food wrappers and orange peels on the floor, sheds shoes in the hall as she walks by, and usually has only one sock on. But she does it with that LOOK on her face, so I think it is either intentional or careless, but not clinical. I hope, I hope, I hope.
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