F.I.A.D.D. is a big problem in my house. Before I had children, I’d heard about baby brain (when your brain turns to mush after childbirth). Whether it’s a real condition or whether I lost some brain cells due to the lack of sleep, I definitely became more forgetful after having children. I've misplaced keys, library books, grocery items that I know I put in my cart, invitations to events, and school flyers sent home in my kids' backpacks. Furthermore, I am easily distracted and seem to have difficulty completing tasks that require my full attention.
A few months ago, one of my friends suggested that she suffered from Mom ADD. When I Googled the subject online, it came up with a bunch of articles geared toward moms who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder when they were younger. This is not the kind of ADD that my friend and I have. We did not experience these symptoms before age 7, we developed them after age 27. Our ADD is specific to our situation – being a mom to multiple children. It’s what I call Family Induced Attention Deficit Disorder (F.I.A.D.D.). Take tonight for example, as I was baking Costco pizzas and chopping fruit for dinner my daughter and her friend came running into the kitchen squealing with delight that they’d just finished filming their latest movie – Adventures in Atlantis – and launched into a long summary of the movie (which took about as long as the 15 minute movie is). As this was going on, my son came in saying, “Mom, watch me! Mom, time me!” as he tried for his personal best handstand which took 23 attempts. The commotion caused my 2-year old who’d just drifted off to sleep in the family room to wake up crying. She cried through dinner. The pizzas cooked longer than I would’ve liked. The dry cleaning delivery man arrived in the middle of all of the activity and I forgot to put the clothes away, which didn’t make my husband happy. My friend called with a change in plans for the weekend, but I can’t remember what the new plans are because I didn’t enter them into my calendar right away. I was too busy timing my son’s handstands, which is why the timer didn’t go off when the pizzas were done. And the cordless phone is missing. I think it might be buried under the pile of chiffon prom dresses on my family room floor. Oh well. What can I do? I have F.I.A.D.D.
I don't know what the cure for F.I.A.D.D. is, but if it involves the elimination of the chaos that comes from being mom to three exuberant children, I'm not interested. The people around me are just going to have to deal with my forgetfulness.
A few months ago, one of my friends suggested that she suffered from Mom ADD. When I Googled the subject online, it came up with a bunch of articles geared toward moms who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder when they were younger. This is not the kind of ADD that my friend and I have. We did not experience these symptoms before age 7, we developed them after age 27. Our ADD is specific to our situation – being a mom to multiple children. It’s what I call Family Induced Attention Deficit Disorder (F.I.A.D.D.). Take tonight for example, as I was baking Costco pizzas and chopping fruit for dinner my daughter and her friend came running into the kitchen squealing with delight that they’d just finished filming their latest movie – Adventures in Atlantis – and launched into a long summary of the movie (which took about as long as the 15 minute movie is). As this was going on, my son came in saying, “Mom, watch me! Mom, time me!” as he tried for his personal best handstand which took 23 attempts. The commotion caused my 2-year old who’d just drifted off to sleep in the family room to wake up crying. She cried through dinner. The pizzas cooked longer than I would’ve liked. The dry cleaning delivery man arrived in the middle of all of the activity and I forgot to put the clothes away, which didn’t make my husband happy. My friend called with a change in plans for the weekend, but I can’t remember what the new plans are because I didn’t enter them into my calendar right away. I was too busy timing my son’s handstands, which is why the timer didn’t go off when the pizzas were done. And the cordless phone is missing. I think it might be buried under the pile of chiffon prom dresses on my family room floor. Oh well. What can I do? I have F.I.A.D.D.
I don't know what the cure for F.I.A.D.D. is, but if it involves the elimination of the chaos that comes from being mom to three exuberant children, I'm not interested. The people around me are just going to have to deal with my forgetfulness.
My daughter, wearing my junior prom dress, and her friend summarizing their
film as my son does handstands in the background.
My 2 year old expressing her discontent at being woken up from her nap, all through dinner
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