My mother sometimes talks about walking into a room and forgetting why she went in there. I do the same, of course, and I think everybody does from time to time, but I wonder if moms do it more than most. I feel like I'm very ditzy sometimes, and can't concentrate on the simplest of things, or remember things for longer than your average goldfish.
I think, though, that maybe, just maybe it has to do with the brain of a mom, which is constantly running on dozens, even scores of trains of thought, all the time. Like: what's in my fridge that needs to be thrown away, what bills need to be paid by tomorrow, I need to check my bank balance, ask daycare if I gave them a check for this week, find out if DD had an accident yesterday or just got wet, see if we have enough Pull-Ups to get through the weekend, someone needs to stop at Target to get the prescriptions, I need to check the calendar to see if I have all my Dr. appts covered by daycare, do I have enough food to pack a picnic for tomorrow, is that smell in the house just one bad litterbox, or does Gracie have a bladder infection and need to go back to the vet, has she lost weight? How many loads of laundry are there left to do, do the kids have underwear and shorts for tomorrow, I want to check the weather for Comfest, if I take apart one of my old, broken watches could I use the bits to fix a piece of Steampunk jewelry I have? Is there any epoxy left in my crafting kit or do I need more, can I even use epoxy for that, do I have a spare power cord for my computer or should I order I new one now, what do I want for my birthday, will we be going up to the Lake for the 4th, and if so have I/should I invite people, I need to call and make that appointment for the cleaning lady, and one for my chiropractor, did I take all my various pills today, am I drinking too much caffeine, did I drink any water today or eat a single unsauced vegetable, how many points did I eat today? Did I do any/enough PT exercises? Did I pack everything I need into my gym bag for tomorrow, what's the best way to keep toys put away but not so hidden that they never get played with, what should we do with all the nicer toys -- sell or give away? Where did I put the papers for the roof contractors I need to call and should we refinance the mortgage?
Seriously. All of it. All the time. And there's more. If I sat for another five minutes there'd be a list twice as long, all of it different things I'm trying to keep track of. I sometimes make lists to cross off, but they get overwhelming, and I never remember to go back and cross things off. Or, worse, I spend the day doing a great deal only to come back and realize that, while important, none of it was on my list. So, it's better to have it all running in the back of my brain. I suspect there is a similar string of computation chugging along in the back of every mom's brain. Maybe in dads, too, but I don't know.
One of my favorite lines from The Chronicles of Narnia was when one of the boys insulted the girls for not being able to keep a map in their heads. Lucy, I think, retorted "That's because our heads have something in them."
I think she was on to something.
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