I love the start of a new year. With it comes a chance to rejuvenate, refresh, start anew and make resolutions. There is something so invigorating about it. There must be some sort of reboot that our human brains do each Jan. 1.
Whatever it is, the New Year is the perfect time to make new goals. So of course, like many others, this year I have my list of resolutions. Many are the usual suspects such as eating healthier, exercising more, balancing time better and so on, but one of them might not be such a common goal.
I haven't quite figured out how to write it down or put it into words, but basically, my goal is to be less absentminded. Be more focused. To try a little harder not to forget what I am talking about mid-sentence or what it was I walked down the hallway for.
To be frank, sometimes I think I am losing it just a little, but I haven't always been like this. I'm not sure if it is having kids or trying to balance the kids and everything else I have going on in life. It's probably a combination of both. But still, I see moms all the time who seem so on top of it, so put together. How do they do it?
I have more examples of my current state of mind than I'd like to admit. So let me just narrow it down to a few.
First, a month or so ago, I was with my kids at Costco when my son dropped his favorite Rudolph stuffed animal out of the shopping cart. I responded with, "Please be careful not to let Rudolph drop out of the cart, or we could lose him. Now mommy is going to have to pick him up."
I finished that sentence and walked off, without picking up Rudolph.
We got to our car, and disaster struck. No Rudolph. We raced back into Costco and searched high and low, but he was a goner. Now how, when I was looking right at him on the ground, did I forget to pick him up? You got me.
Second, one night, I needed to get some shopping done. My 2-year-old son had taken a late nap that day and was not at all sleepy. So I did what most responsible parents would do — took him with me to Super Walmart at 9 p.m. He was in a good mood, and I was able to mosey around and take my time shopping for once.
We made a haul and 90 minutes later checked out our items with the total coming to just over $130. Everything was all bagged up and ready to go. I opened my purse to pull out my wallet and, you guessed it, NO WALLET. I wanted to cry.
My son had been a good sport up to that point but was ready to get home and go to bed, and so was I. The cashier hadn't been very talkative thus far, but she was the only worker in the entire store with a Santa hat on, so I was sure she'd be nice and cheerful about the situation.
I apologetically explained how I must have left my wallet at home, but she didn't crack a smile. I asked her if she had any ideas of what we could do, but she didn't say anything. So I started blabbering off ideas when she finally said she would call her manager over. As we were waiting, I asked her if this had ever happened to someone she was checking out before. She just stared at me with a blank look and no response, as if to say, "You are an idiot."
A small part of me wanted to rip her Santa hat off and tell her she didn't have the Christmas spirit, but I am way too nice and way too chicken for that, so I politely waited for the manager.
They worked it out so I could put my cart with all my bags aside, go home and get my wallet and return to pay. I had to drag my son home and back to Walmart with me, and we finally made it home with all our groceries at 11:15 p.m. What a night.
Lastly, the next morning, I vowed to think things through better so I wouldn't get myself into a situation like that again.
Later in the morning, I went through a McDonald's drive through, paid and drove off without stopping at the second window for what I had ordered. When I was driving down the road, I went to take a sip of the drink and discovered it wasn't in my cup holder.
Like I said, these are a few from a handful of examples. Maybe I'm not the only one out there with this problem, but for some reason, I lately seem to be worst than most. Busy life as a mom or lack of sleep, whatever it may be, I am going to beat it.
So here's to the New Year and resolutions. Wish me luck.
Lindsay Ferguson is a mother of two, a part-time PR writer and a communication graduate from the University of Utah. She enjoys writing about humorous everyday experiences and keeps up a blog at www.lifeasamomuncut.blogspot.com.