Day 13 - A Serious Case of Mommy Brain

It seems that as soon as you have children a part of your brain ceases to function properly. You know the part that is responsible for memory, organization, and fine motor skills. I'm not sure if it's due to lack of sleep (see sleep deprivation) or the fact that you are not only responsible for yourself (which may have already been quite a challenge), but you are now also responsible for another little human being. Personally, I believe that it's the fact that you and your brain must function 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Eventually, there are bound to be shoddy connections, lack of memory, wiring malfunctions, processing errors, and system overloads. The only solution is to shut down and reboot.

I have been known to have mild cases of mommy brain from time to time. Dropped jars leading to broken glass and applesauce all over the kitchen, walking into a room wondering how I got there and what I was looking for, unpacking the groceries and realizing that I forgot a bag at the store, and not to mention the keys that are constantly misplaced. But, sometimes, a string of mommy brain incidents can send you into a never-ending cycle of negative despair. Sadly, that’s what happened to me yesterday. My mommy brain took over and it put a total kybosh on my day!

We were heading to Gamma and Papou’s that afternoon, but before we could leave I had to pack the kids bags and take little Keegan to the pediatrician. Simple enough! But, as usual, it took me forever to pack because I couldn’t find anything, I didn’t know what to bring, and needless to say, there was a little bit of a lack of focus on my part. Mostly packed, I left the house in a bit of a panic, since I was now late for Keegan’s appointment. Late and stressed, and trying to remember the couple of items that still needed to be packed in the kid’s bag, I realized that I had completely gone into auto pilot and was going in the wrong way. Back on track and cutting it close, I arrived at the intersection of the pediatrician’s clinic. Waiting at the stop sign, I saw two cars coming. The first one slammed on the brakes and then “BANG!” The two cars crashed right in front of me! I went to Keegan’s appointment in a complete daze, and then, somewhat frazzled I headed back home. At home, I managed to remember to pack the missing items in the kid’s bag and loaded it into the car. And, we were on off! I’m happy, thinking that nothing else could possibly go wrong. But, as my hubby unloaded the car, he turned to me and asked: “Babe, where is your bag?” I couldn’t believe it! I had forgotten my bag! The clothes on my back would be the only clothes I would wear for the next three days! To make matters worse, a couple of hours later Keegan proceeded to throw up on me and all the clothes I was wearing. The only clothes I had! Unable to process and warning sign flooding my screen, I realized that complete system crash was imminent. I decided it was time I head up to bed, shut down and reboot before I had full system meltdown. As my head hit the pillow I wondered…will someone ever invent system upgrade - Supermommy 2.0?