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 see that it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice 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 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 cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I’d been drinking.

I’m going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. The Coke is getting warm, so I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye – they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and 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 spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but some spills on the floor. So I set the remote back 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 car isn’t washed; the b ills aren’t paid; there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter; the flowers don’t have enough water; there is still only one cheque in my cheque 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, and I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail….

Please do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don’t remember who I’ve sent it to.

Don’t laugh — if this isn’t you yet, your day is coming!!

Cheers – or fears – to all