Lifting the fog

By Amanda

Mothers, whether they work or stay home, all have moments where the stress of being responsible for young lives sends us into a fog. I liken it to the G-force pilots experience in fighter planes when they simply “gray out.” They are lightheaded. Their vision becomes cloudy.  Simple tasks become impossible.

My girlfriend who stays home with her two children called me at the office the other day.

“How’s your day going?” I asked.

“Terrible!” she exclaimed.

“Why, what’s wrong?” I responded.

“I have one hour to go to the grocery store, exactly one hour. The kids are at home with a babysitter. I jump in the car, I race to the store (which is 15 minutes away), and when I pull into the parking lot I realize I don’t have my purse or wallet. Now I’m fighting traffic to get home so I can pay her and she can leave. I don’t even have milk in the house!” She finished with a deep,resigned sigh.

I called back later to see if she convinced the babysitter to stay so that she could go back to the store. She had, but in all of her rushing she fell in her driveway with her grocery bags sending everything rolling down the hill including the eggs.

I was in Target the other day and I picked up a white purse. My three-year-old pulled it out of the cart and started playing with it.  When I went to check out it was gone. I re-traced my steps; it was nowhere to be found.

“Tell Mommy where you threw the purse,” I said to her at first in a kind tone and then in a more agitated tone. We walked in circles.

“Please tell Mommy where the purse is,” I pleaded. She just looked down at her feet, a scowl on her face. Other shoppers kept eyeing the crazy woman yelling at her child in the cart.

Finally, full of frustration, I picked her up and took her to the car leaving everything else in the cart in the middle of the aisle. I lectured her on the way to the car about how we would now have to go to another store because that was the only white purse on the shelf. As I was buckling her in the car-seat I felt something hit my side. I looked up and noticed the white purse was on my shoulder. I immediately scooped her up in my arms and apologized for my tirade for about five minutes with lots of kisses and hugs. Because I didn’t want to be a bad mother and a shoplifter, I quickly returned to the store to pay for the purse.

When the fog lifted I realized just how quickly it can envelope you.  And when it happens you need to put on your low-beams and drive slowly…

Amanda lives in North Carolina with her husband and two daughters.

Comments

[Maria P]

LOL I totally feel your pain! I am constantly running around and I'll rush into a room and then I won't remember why I rushed to get there. So then Ill rush back to where I was hoping Ill remember what I was doing. I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off.

[melissa b.]

Love this! I can't imagine when the fog lifts but it does get slightly better over time. Slightly.

[amy h.]

me too, me too, me too!

I spent 15 minutes in Target last night running around searching for my sunglasses before I realized they were sitting on my head!

when exactly will the fog be lifting????

[JeanellePaige]

Love your post!! Happens to me all the time!!