Thank goodness there’s a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!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 decide 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 check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks 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 checks,
but first I need to push the Coke aside
so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.The Coke is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke,
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 in the den where it belongs,
but first I’ll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it 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 bills 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 1 check in my check 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,
first I’ll check my e-mail….
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!!
This is sooooo me!
I just want you to know that my mother sent me this via an e-mail today. My comment to her was, “We (my sister and I) may not be there yet, but it’s knocking.”
Thank you for making us laugh.
Although these symptoms are aggravated by being 50+, they actually started for me in my mid twenties. Scary, but trure. Nevertheless, I do not have typical ADHD symptoms. [as I have observed in children designated as having it]. So what is the cause of this condition if it can begin earlier? Age wasn’t the predictor in my case but I can sure identify with everything you wrote about. Frustrates me to no end. Does make task completion and prioritizing brutal.
Why have you been following me around???
How did you get in my house?
Good grief! This is way too familiar.
Too familiar!!