View From The Glen

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A Sharp Mind

A couple of weeks ago I got almost all the way home before remembering that I had to pick my youngest daughter up from day care. It was, of course, a day when I was already in a rush, so we sped back into town to get her, and ate at Dairy Queen before speeding back to the school for the first council meeting of the year.

How could this happen, you ask?

Easy. I was preoccupied, and was thinking so many steps ahead that I forgot one critical one.

Fortunately, I was only 15 minutes late when all is said and done, the day care was very understanding, and Grace was more than mollified by the offering of french fries and ice cream.

But it made me realize that the sharp mind I once prided myself on in university debates is slipping a bit. Maybe even unraveling. They say this happens to mothers all the time, as, let’s face it, we are usually thinking about a hundred different things at any given moment. Forgetting to pick up Grace was merely the catalyst that forced me to change my ways.

I went out and bought a notebook. Small but chubby, it fits in my purse in between my wallet and my novel-to-go . Now I write things down. Daily. Get dogfood. Book eye exams. RSVP for birthday party. Call Mom. Swimming tomorrow.

And on Tuesdays, written very boldly. PICK UP GRACE.

A blunt pencil is better than a sharp mind, after all.

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