Good morning Everyone!
Something about the Christmas season seems to send my absent mindedness into hyperdrive. Not so my dogs.

The Mandinator!
Here’s my proof:
1. It was raining last week, and I was the last one to leave the office. I usually go out the front, which requires me to unlock and then lock it back, but that night I went out the back door, which always lets people out even if they can’t get back in. After I got outside and into my car (it has a combination lock that lets me unlock it without the key), I started to panic when I couldn’t find the keys anywhere in my purse. I hadn’t even closed the car door yet. I started to send a frantic text to one of my friends from work asking her to come back to free me, but as I was doing so, I realized there was the most annoying “ping, ping, ping” coming from the car. I looked up to realize that my keys were in the ignition. I must have put them in the ignition without even thinking about it.
2. I am working on a knitting project that involves using a row counter. This means that after I finish a row, I have to stop and hit the button on the counter to tally each row. To do this, I have to put the “free” needle – the one without yarn on it at the time – down. I got quite annoyed the other night when I couldn’t find the darn thing after one row tally. There is nothing more frustrating than losing an object when you have been sitting in the same place the whole time. I was sitting by Mark and he finally asked me what I was looking for. When I told him I was looking for my knitting needle, he looked at me strangely before telling me that it was tucked behind my ear!
3. We put a memory foam mattress topper on our bed last night. We leaned back to see how it felt, and Mark had my glasses in his hand. I kept reaching out to take them back, and he finally asked, “Why are you reaching for my glasses?” I started to inform him that they weren’t his glasses, they were mine – until I realized that my glasses were still on my head. Then I had to tell him that I had forgotten my glasses were still on me!
Compare that to Mandy’s behavior this morning. She sailed onto my chest about 6:30, ready for me to get up. Apparently the extra 4 inches added to the bed by the mattress topper doesn’t pose any problems for her, but I digress. When she did, I noticed that in her mouth she had one of Mark’s handkerchiefs. Sleepy or not, I was aware that most dogs do not carry handkerchiefs around with them, so I removed Mandy’s from her, put it in the hamper, pushed the clothes down to be sure they stayed out of reach and went on about our day. About an hour later, I went back into the room for something and Mandy followed me, sailed back on the bed and began searching for the handkerchief I had taken away.
That moment was when I concluded that my dog is far less absent-minded than me.
Have a great day!
Nancy