|
I need some help
Anyone who knows me would agree with that statement
in general, but this is a particular problem. I
have a terrible time stopping in the middle of one
task in order to deal with another. If the
interruption is planned, that’s different. I
can start a load of laundry, then get the kettle on
to boil for the kids’ oatmeal. While waiting
for the water to boil (without watching it, of
course) I can take out everything I need to make
their lunches. Water boils, I make the oatmeal and
serve it, then return to making lunch. That is just
multi-tasking.
While I’m occasionally guilty of it, this
problem is not hyper-tasking when I do too many
things at once and everything gets messed up (see
“Words, Yogurt, and
Smoke”). This is an incessant need to
finish a project before I do anything else.
“Just let me finish writing this column,
Sweeties, and I will make your lunch.”
I can’t count how many times I have said
that. The only thing the twins understand is that
their needs are not being met and they are not
happy—or patient. It’s hard to
concentrate when they are like that.
“No, I need to completely fold this basket
of laundry before I start making dinner. Why?
Because if I didn’t I would be making dinner
while a half-folded basket of laundry sits in my
room, that’s why!” (There are times I
worry about what this job has done to me.)
I was cleaning and re-packing the camper to
prepare for our penultimate camping trip of the
year and the time to collect the big kids from
school was approaching. I wanted to surprise them
by riding my bike to pick them up. They would get a
bike ride home and I would get some exercise. I
strapped their two bikes to the back of the
stroller/trailer that hauls the twins around, so I
would get a lot of exercise. I told myself again
and again that if I didn’t finish the camper
with enough time, I would just drive the minivan
and pick them up like every other day. No big
deal.
But I really wanted to ride my bike.
I left twelve minutes late, the trailer with two
girls inside and two bikes outside rolling behind
me. Using incredible concentration, divine
intervention, and great timing at the lights, I
made the trip in record time and arrived just as
the kids were let out.
I let them play on the playground for a while
because they asked so nice and I couldn’t say
“No.” Literally. I couldn’t talk. I
couldn’t breathe.
After a long ride home (with a break at the ice
cream shop) we pulled into the driveway. It was not
until that point that it even occurred to me that,
had I left the trailer project half finished, I
could have left on time and had enough time for a
leisurely ride.
So here is where I need help: I want to invent a
word for this problem. Any suggestions?
©2008, Mark
Phillips
* * *
Women, it's true, make human beings, but
only men can make men. - Margaret Mead
Mark
Phillips is a Stay-At-Home-Dad and freelance
writer. Along with raising his four children, he is
developing a franchise called “The Vacuum IS a
Power Tool.” It is designed to help SAHDs
maintain that which makes us men, instead of hairy
Mom-substitutes. He earned a B.S. in
Communication/Theatre Arts and teaching
certificates in English, public speaking, and
psychology from Eastern Michigan University. After
six years as a high school English teacher and
Director of Dramatic Arts at Powers Catholic High
School in Flint, Michigan, he changed careers and
became a Stay-At-Home-Dad. www.TheVacuumIsAPowerTool.com
or E-Mail
Contact
Us |
Disclaimer
| Privacy
Statement
Menstuff®
Directory
Menstuff® is a registered trademark of Gordon
Clay
©1996-2023, Gordon Clay
|
