My Lost Art at Multi-tasking. or is it Adult ADD????

I am a retired older (note I didn't say elderly yet) woman, who is finding out many things are changing in my life.

Take today for example.  I got up at 7:30 a.m., got dressed, and welcomed my 4 year old step- great-grandson at 8:15 a.m.   While I had my cup of coffee, he played quietly with his toys.  As I drank my coffee, I began to think of all the things I needed to do during the day, such as do laundry, get the meat out of the freezer for meatloaf for supper,  feed my bird, etc.

 What I failed to do was to write everything down and depended on my memory to get all this accomplished. My bad.  As I started up the stairs to get my laundry, Julian said, "Granny Ann, I really would like something to eat."  Instead of  telling him, okay, just a minute, I need to get my laundry to the laundry room, I immediately  asked him what he would like to eat. Now this 4 year old is not your typical 4 year old, he is very precise, is  very articulate  and at the end of the day has more sense than I. We went through all the breakfast foods that he might like a couple of times, and he finally decided that a Pop Tart would be sufficient until  lunchtime.  Then the big decision was which one he preferred…the cherry or the cinnamon.   Finally, the cinnamon  won out.  I got him settled at the table and fixed myself another cup of coffee and sat with him as he ate.

 As he was finishing, he asked why I had started up the stairs (I'm so grateful for the curiosity of little ones).  Whether it was selective memory or for real, I had completely forgotten about my laundry. I gave him a hug and thanked him for the reminder.  I then got one of my cardiac workouts  climbing the 14 steps to my room, and back down to the laundry room.   I filled the washing machine  and turned it on. There, that's done.   With the laundry started, I  cleared the table and put the few dishes in the dishwasher.  About that time ,my Cockatiel began screeching….that's why his name is Buzzard, he sounds just like one.  I fed him, and went to check to see what Julian was up to. As long as I can hear him, I don't worry, but the minute he gets quiet you had better check.  To my surprise, he was stretched out on the floor, playing quietly with his cars. 

By that time, it was time for me to take a break…remember I told you I am an older woman.  I sat down for a while and watched The View, though I don't know why I bother. I usually end up talking back to a couple of the ladies on there. Anyway,  I thought about the meat in the freezer that was in the garage, and was about to go and get it, when I realized there was a real downpour going on. It was almost lunchtime .  I asked Julian if he was hungry…don't know why I asked, he is always hungry.   We went through the ritual again of what he wanted to eat. He asked me what I had. I went through a whole list of things, and he said,  "Oh, Granny Ann, I don't like any of those things, how about you just give me ham with cheese rolled up  in the ham,  and please make sure you heat it up."   He ate, and I ran out to the freezer to get the meat for supper (dinner, if you prefer).   By this time, it is Noon, and the meat was as hard as a rock and I needed to put the meatloaf together by at least 3:30 pm. Oh well,  maybe it will thaw or maybe it won't. If it doesn't, sandwiches will be on the menu.  I again cleared the table and piddled around the living room, picking up , took the dogs out, and guess what, it was time for another break. 

After a while, I started back to the kitchen to see if the meat was defrosting.  On my way to the kitchen, I passed the laundry room and  I remembered I had laundry in the washing machine that needed to be put in the dryer. I completed that task, and completely forgot to check on the meat.

It's now 3:15 pm, and time for my other step-grandchildren, 7  and 10 years old to be home from school. Then the fun began.  When they get here, it is immediately homework time.  Casey, the 7 year old, decided he didn't want to do his, and told me he didn't have any. I knew better because the teacher sends a form home every Monday outlining homework for the week. He wasn't a happy camper when I made him put his truck down  and get his homework out. He is mildly autistic, and sometimes, it is hard to get him focused….by this time, I wasn't focused either. All of a sudden, I remembered the meat again, and the lateness of the hour, and I had yet to begin to put the meatloaf together. Thankfully, Carrie, the 10 year old came to my rescue and I gladly rewarded her for her help. Carrie is a dream child. While I put the meatloaf together, she helped her brother stay focused and get his homework done.  After homework, they got their snack, then their playtime.  That was pretty uneventful.

I was pretty proud of myself by this time, the meat was thawed, and I got the meatloaf put together, or so I thought. For whatever reason, I remembered that I had forgotten  an ingredient that is crucial to a good meatloaf (imagine that, I remembered). So out of the baking dish, back into the bowl it went.  Finally, I put it in the oven at 5:20 pm.

My next task was to get the children to pick  up all their toys and put them away, get their shoes on, and get them to settle down until their mother got here to pick them up.  I accomplished all of that except to get them to settle down, or was it I who wasn't settled down.  After all, they were  4 and 7 years old, how could I expect them to act like adults.  So, I let them be kids. As I walked by the laundry room again, I remembered that my clothes were still in the dryer. Feeling very frustrated, I just hoped that I hadn't forgotten to turn it on. Thankfully, I had, and I took them out and got them all folded. 

I checked the meatloaf, it had not burned, the childrens mother came by to pick them up,  they left, and I sat down and enjoyed another cup of coffee.

As I sat there, I thought about years gone past when I knew how to multi-task and now  it seems that I go in circles,  perhaps getting things done, but  not completely in any organized fashion.  Do you reckon, by any stretch of the imagination that it is because I am older, actually old…okay, so I am now known as elderly. 

Well, for as frustrated as I was today, everything got done,  the kids are wonderful, and I love them very much. I just wish I could bottle up some of their energy, thereby  regaining some of my multi-tasking skills.  On the other hand, I wonder if rather than not being able to multi-task I might have had a sudden onset of Adult ADD today.  Whatever it was seemed to be a sudden onset, and I pray it doesn't last.