Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Cognitive Overload

I got a lot going on.

A set of squirrelly twins.  A teenage boy. A Foreign Exchange Student from Germany. All who need to be driven various places. A blended family. Schedules that change on a dime. A house, a garden and a shit ton of dishes. A husband who works two jobs.

So, I realize we're behind the 8 ball and the girls need to do a book report due on Friday. They haven't even chosen a book, much less put pencil to paper. I tell everyone we can't go to the youth group thing tonight. Wails abound.

I spend about a hour researching level appropriate books online, then checking to see if our local library had them. Not much luck there. So, as I picked up the kids, I found a teacher and she gave us permission to check in her classroom books. We found two books and then I hustled the girls home, fed 'em a quick snack and then told 'em to READ!

I run off on an errand. I also email the teachers as I never saw the packets with actual instructions for the assignment. Just the form about choosing the book.  Then, I get a phone call. It's one of the girls. I argue with her until she says something about the report being due on October 28th.

Whoa. Wait a minute.... It did seem kinda fast and I never saw the instructions and oh, wait, it's a costume thing and....

Well, damn. I'm trying to get the girls to do a month-long project in 2 days. Whoops.

Don't I feel like an idiot.

This is what my good friend B the psychologist calls "cognitive overload". It like trying to keep too many tennis balls under the water and inevitably, one pops up and smacks you in the face. 

If I'm having troubles keeping track of things, which is my full time job, I might add, how in the hell do women who work outside the home do it?!

Ladies? Any suggestions?

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