I am a bit of a distracted, scatter-brained work-aholic; it's not my fault though, I was born this way! (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #23)

Does your day ever feel like that? Like all the various parts of it are like those dinosaur "stickies" scattered every which way over the tv screen--no seeming orderliness with maybe a hint of a blur? Mine often does, but here's hope (you know, can't fix the problem until you have a diagnosis). I have "discovered" a "new" Mommy disorder today; it's actually a version of ADD ;) and it's not really ADD, it's called Multi-tasking Mama Syndrome, or MTMS (because MMS is already taken :/ )  I definitely have his disorder; I was trying to clean off the pile on my one "free" counter space and found myself putting away the ironing board, scrubbing the toilet bowl, and I don't know what else... I don't really have ADD, but I have become such a multi-tasker, always feeling the need to be busy and get things done, that I can drive myself a little crazy with it, especially since if you are multi-tasking too much you don't ever finish any of those fifteen projects...  The following paragraphs illustrate my point.

Am I crazy? It is nearly 10pm and I am so tired I cannot get off this couch. I want to cross stitch, but I know I will mess up on my counting, and then spend another night taking it out... But I always feel I should be doing something, I cannot just sit here, even though I cannot peel myself off the couch. So I am writing. While watching the Dick Van Dyke show. Because I cannot just sit and watch apparently. But this is using up my nervous energy enough so that at least I am not feeling completely berserk. And I also just remembered I owe my Grandma a letter, maybe I should start that too...
You see, I come from a seemingly long line of work-aholics. Which drives my husband nuts. I am probably the mildest in my family. Two of my brothers cannot sleep in or sit still to save their lives; I clearly remember a vacation with one brother in which the last day at the cabin we were staying, he wanted us all up by 7am so he could get the sheets off our beds to start the laundry, never mind he already had the washer running and he wouldn't be ready for our sheets for another hour and a half :) And it's not like there was even a check-out time to worry about, the cabin belonged to a friend of his :)  Do not worry though, little brother, I am only amused and was awake and ready to get up anyway. And we did have a wonderful weekend!
My other brother gets up at 4 or 5 am to have a long workout every morning before he goes to work, then works out again after work! I don't remember my Mom ever sitting down to read a book just for fun, she was always too busy!
Now at the old age of 30+, I am having to just learn to relax, because all this being constantly busy is bothering my blood pressure. Well at least it's bothering my heart rate...So I think I should just shut this computer and do something more relaxing like read a magazine. Or write in my journal--by hand; that at least forces me to move slower since I cannot write as fast as I can type. 

A few days ago I caught myself watching something on Netflix, reading a magazine, and eating, all at once. And I noticed I was only feeling more stressed and less relaxed. The ironic part was I was reading an article about how women need to truly relax more; about how we as a group have to learn to relax. It was saying how most of us, if we just took some time to ourselves for just a short while, we (and our families!) would feel better! Of course, then it described exactly what that might mean and it definitely did not involve multi-tasking! For me, it means if I sit down to watch something, then I am ONLY watching (well, and probably eating or sipping coffee). If I am cross-stitching and want to watch something, then I will pick something I have seen many times so that the background noise is just relaxing and since I already know the story line, I can just look up and listen occasionally (for that I will pick Everybody Loves Raymond, or maybe Sleepless in Seattle, or, well, you get the point). Now, if you are not a Type A, you will probably just shake your head and conclude that I am a little bit nuts; but if you are like me, please try to take some time to yourself today. Close your computer (or at least quit trying to read useful things) and just chill! The dirty dishes, the grocery list, the meal planning, and the mopping can wait. Right now you just need to breathe. And yes I am preaching to myself, so with that, I am going to close my computer and eat lunch. Then maybe I will feel less light-headed and out of breath. :p

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