Monday, January 03, 2005

Adult A.D.D. defined ...

My house looks like a total disaster area. Seriously!!! Christmas has almost left the building but the aftermath is crazy. I find myself overwhelmed and not sure where to start. It's times like this that my true ADD nature rears it's ugly head!

If any of you ever doubt that there is true legitimate adult ADD please read this. It's not original to me but it could be... focus, focus, focus!


I decide to wash my car.
As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can under the table, and notice that the trash can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left my extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.
I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long,
and I'm really tired.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

AMEN...ADD is REAL...

Clarissa said...

Wow. If that's ADD then I must have it. You're singing my song.

Anonymous said...

That is SO me at work. People find papers, mail, food... I leave a trail behind me because something else catches my eye! At home, I do ok - is there such a thing as occupational ADD?

Jenni said...

Oh my goodness! That is so hilarious! And so me, at times, although I am getting better. Thanks for the laugh!

John Owens said...

I think it is the only way to live. Life is an adventure no doubt. Well, at least it is an adventure when you're ADD. I've taken several "self-test" and PASSED everyone of them. I've thought about getting on medication, but I don't want to lose the fun in life.

Thanks for sharing and bringing us all together. Now we have a support group Not AA, but truly ADDA. (ADD Anonymous) The only thing is we'll never get through 12 steps. We'll be lucky to make it to step 2. :)

Mae said...

I thought I got to step 2 last week, but it turns out, it was step 3 of another anon. club I'm in that is for something to do with remembering... but I don't really remember what it's for... Did I turn on the alarm clock? Is it set for 8:00 or 9:00? a.m. or p.m.? Umm, what am I getting up for again?

Donna G said...

I'm with Jon, why take the fun out of life by medicating this problem. I am just glad to know I am not the only one with it. (It's a wonder we ever get any blogging done!)

Have a wonderful, wacky day!

SG said...

I see I am in good company in blogland! This comment is not for any of the commentors from yesterday. But for the upset e-mailer....

Ok, so I joked about ADD yesterday and apparently hit a nerve with someone. Yes, I know it is not a "funny issue". I was serious when I said it was real.

BUT, ADD is what it is. You can live with it and laugh or live with it and cry. I choose to laugh. And yes, I have been on medication before. In school it was not optional. The medication helped me survive. When I worked for Porsche it was not needed. When I taught school it was.

Now I just try to practice good habits (I said TRY)and keep myself focused. I am not always successful. I have been on meds a time or two since I had Kolby. Along with a regiment of good habbits, the medication truly does work with few negative side affects.

I urge anyone who struggles with ADD to talk to a doctor about ALL the options there are for dealing with this disorder. But I warn you that there is no magic anti-ADD pill... Medication is a step in a process.

Having said that, ADD is truly NOT the worst thing one could have. There are much, much worse things. In time you may even see that there are some slight advantages.

I think it is healthy to keep it all in perspective.... and to make light of it when possible. :)

Beaner said...

I think one of the biggest problems today is that people are WAY too sensitive! We live in a world where we have to be PC now because we don't want to hurt someone's feelings. I'm not saying that it's OK to be purposefully mean or rude, but why can't we poke fun at serious things anymore w/o someone throwing a hissy fit? What ever happened to "Sticks & stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me."? I think life is a LOT easier when you can laugh at yourself & when it's OK to laugh at others. I love to make fun of my friends - sometimes making a joke about something is an easier pill to swallow than being told straight up when you're screwing up. That's how I deal with things & I don't get my feelings hurt too often because of it. But that's just me.