Good morning!
After I sat in the drive-through lane at Wendy’s for five minutes only to discover that I was sitting behind a parked car, which explained why the line wasn’t moving, I decided to reflect upon the perils of absent-mindedness.
1) Traffic stoppage. I have sat at a four-way stop sign waiting for the light to change, wondering why the people behind me were so impatient. (Note to self: Stop signs won’t change to green.)
2) Unnecessary car repairs. Mark and I had to swap cars one day. I was in the Ford Escape, and became quite annoyed when it wouldn’t start – only to realize that I had been pressing the air conditioning on/off button in a vain attempt to get the car to start, rather than putting the key in the ignition. (My Hyundai has a push button start.) I was grateful to have discovered this before I called for a wrecker.
3) Retracing steps. I work in an office building with three flights of stairs, and I am on the top floor. It can be quite inconvenient to leave my office, travel down to the basement, forget what I came for, and have to travel back up again three flights to the point of beginning to remember what I needed. Good exercise though!
4) Retracing steps, part deux. I have been known to walk through the house repeating over and over again the item that I need to carry back to a particular room just to be sure I don’t forget.
5) Retracing steps, part trois. (Ha! And you thought I didn’t know French. Actually, I don’t; I’m just guessing that “trois” means “three” in French – it could be the French version of Troy for all I know.) I also have had to turn the car around at various points along various routes because I forgot to stop at the one place that I had intended to travel to when I left my point of origin.
6) Taking extra trips to the store. I have been known to leave the house for one specific item from the grocery store, return back 30 minutes later with $100 worth of groceries, and realize that I never did get the one thing that I really needed.
7) Finding food in odd places. I have found the peanut butter, and various non-refrigerated items in the refrigerator; I have found the ice cream in the refrigerator and not the freezer; I have found the milk in the cupboard once or twice.
8) Voice overuse. My family has become very patient about repeating their menu choices – I ask in the den, take the ten steps to the kitchen, and realize that I have forgotten what they said, and have to call out the question again from the kitchen.
9) Poor wardrobe choices. Wearing your night-clothes to work is normally not recommended. Wait – that’s just a dream I had! I have, however, discovered that I was wearing mis-matched shoes.
10) Giving adult responsibility to a 10-year-old. My daughter has learned quickly to remind me to stop somewhere when she sees that I am about to miss a turn. I am very grateful that she has not learned to comment upon the phenomenon.
11) Having something to laugh about – Priceless!
Have a great day!
Nancy