Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D.
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over
at my car and decide my car needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice that there
is mail on the porch table that I brought up from
the mail box earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the
car.
I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk
mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice
that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and
take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the
mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as
well pay the bills first.
I take my check book off the table, and see that
there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go
inside the house to my desk where I find the can of
Coke that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to
push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock
it over.
I realize the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I
should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase
of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to
be watered.
I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover
my reading glasses that I've been searching for all
morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but
first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a
container with water and suddenly I spot the TV
remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I
will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember
that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it
back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water
the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of
it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get
some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I
was planning to do.
At the end of the day:
the driveway is flooded
the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
there is still only one check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with
the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done
today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy
all day long, and I'm really tired.
Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is
coming
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.
This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over
at my car and decide my car needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice that there
is mail on the porch table that I brought up from
the mail box earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the
car.
I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk
mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice
that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and
take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the
mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as
well pay the bills first.
I take my check book off the table, and see that
there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go
inside the house to my desk where I find the can of
Coke that I had been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to
push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock
it over.
I realize the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I
should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase
of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to
be watered.
I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover
my reading glasses that I've been searching for all
morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but
first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a
container with water and suddenly I spot the TV
remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I
will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember
that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it
back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water
the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of
it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get
some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I
was planning to do.
At the end of the day:
the driveway is flooded
the car isn't washed,
the bills aren't paid,
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,
there is still only one check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with
the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done
today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy
all day long, and I'm really tired.
Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is
coming
