I am a Maven of Multi-tasking, and proud of it. It has become an art form with me. I’m the kind of woman who can drive and apply mascara simultaneously. (I said I CAN do it, not I DO do it.) I can knit scarves, watch soccer games, talk on the phone, plan the week’s menu—and still be able to tell you which kid cleated which kid in the chest and what choice words should be said to the ref who failed to red-card the little miscreant. I’ve got the whole concurrency-thing down. Always figured it was a natural talent, you know?Then I attempted to spend one whole day doing nothing but writing. All day. With no interruptions from the kidlets or the hub—who had given me a quiet writing day as a birthday gift. I was ecstatic. I went to a quiet place. Sat at the desk. Plugged everything in. Checked the lights. Filled my water bottle. Got on Facebook to see how many Birthday greetings I’d received. Brushed the eraser shavings from the desk into the garbage can. Adjusted the light. Adjusted the chair. Pulled up my Work In Progress. Reviewed my WIP. Spell checked my WIP. Whipped through the halls to walk the kinks out of my back. Did some stretches. Wrote some truly epic sentences. Stood and got a cookie from the woman out front. Came back. Wrote a few more epic sentences. Checked Facebook. Wrote another sentence. Yawned. Turned off the lights, and headed home.
Dude. Turns out I’m Writing-ADHD. Nearly killed me to sit there that long and just WRITE. Who knew? It’s something I’ve dreamed of being able to do for the whole year and a half I’ve been working on my novel. And once I had the chance, I discovered I had not the skill. Motherhood is the perfect disguise for those of us whose attention is deficit, because motherhood is ADHD too. I’m thinking I can learn how to do it, though. Between runs to the orthodontist, soccer practice, the dentist, the eye doctor, play practices, gymnastics, art class, cooking dinner, writing class, and cleaning the house. No problemo. Oh look! There’s a chicken!
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