Thursday, July 14, 2011

Distractions!

I have wondered so many times about being diagnosed as an adult ADD case. Have I ever been diagnosed? Have I ever even seen anyone to diagnose me? No! Do I really think I'm one of those with adult ADD? Not really, I think what happens is that there are too many distractions in life and I apparently don't have enough focus on any one thing to stay on task. I'm sure there are many that will understand this.

It goes along like this: I go to the kitchen to get a drink. I see a stack of unread mail and go to open it---not getting the drink. Take the mail into the office area to read the mail--seeing something on the computer screen blinking. The unread mail gets put down and the computer is checked. Oh great, I have mail. Open the email inbox, see something of interest I go to that web page. That site makes me think, "Ooooh that is so cute, bet Kim and I could come up with directions and digitized design similar to that for the website." Let's check yahoo to see if she's online. Yep, chat for a bit, show her my idea taken from website idea. I have completely forgotten the mail, email, the drink.

Chat a while longer, start testing designs for her. A needle breaks, go get upset at machine, walk out of the room and find a sock the cat that has drug up the hallway. Go down the hall and pick up the remaining laundry and go to laundry room. On the way, see dishes in another room that were never taken to the kitchen, go back to that room to get the dishes. See a new computer game that DH has put onto that computer. Sit down and start playing the game (forgetting the dishes). Get bored with that and head towards the living room. Oh great, one of my favorite shows is on tv. All right, its a marathon. Get totally wrapped up in it.

The dogs come up wagging their tail and woofing. "Do you gotta go outside?" Take the dogs to the back door and let them out. Gee the table never got wiped off last night. Suppose I should do that. Go to kitchen and realize, I'm thirsty. Go to get a glass from the cabinet and there are none there. Empty the dishwasher, reload it. Go look for other dishes. Hmmm, wasn't I in here before to get these? Take them back, finish loading the dishwasher. Take the dirty dish rags to the laundry room. Hmmmm, why didn't I start this load earlier? etc., etc., etc., etc.

Seems like I have this kind of thing happen all the time. I have this "to do" list that is so long it could probably wrap around the house several times. My "I want to try that" or "to be made" or "make or find a pattern for this" list is even longer! I go to "research" or find a tutorial or pattern for something and then I find blog after blog to read through and find fabulous ideas for everything but what I'm looking for. Distraction: fabulous blogs from awesome "normal" people that write about their passions and share their knowledge with others. Is this distraction a bad thing? No, but it does keep me from doing what I intended to do in the first place.

I have an extensive stash of fabric. I decide to straighten up the stash and try to organize it a bit better. While going through the fabric I hit the DISTRACTION! And what exactly would that be? "Oh look, how cute that fabric is!!! That would be so cute as a ______ for ______." Now all I have to do is find the pattern for it. Is that a bad thing? Well, it isn't IF you find the pattern, put it with the fabric and put the rest of the fabric away. But that rarely happens--at least not in an organized fashion.

I start going through the patterns looking for something specific---and DISTRACTION: "Oh this would be cute, I forgot I had this pattern. OMG this is adorable, when did I get this? That would be so cute for.... Oh and this would fit.... I really need to find the right fabric for this." Now when you have so many patterns that you have them sorted by category and then sizes (who cares which company its from) and you have enough to fill an entire filing cabinet PLUS some, its easy to forget patterns that you have. Or when your children haven't been toddlers in 20 years you forget what baby and toddler patterns you have. So you start going pattern by pattern pulling out the ones you think you want to make "NOW." So much for looking for "the" pattern for the particular pattern.

Now I have a ton of fabric on the table because the "other stuff" never got put back up. I have about 10 patterns I want to make "NOW" sitting on the table. I look at the mess and try to figure out what I'm going to do now. I sit down in my sewing chair, swivel around to the computer and DISTRACTION: I see a really cute quilting pattern that would be awesome for..... But I'm not really a quilter. I play around at putting things together. Maybe I can watch the Quilting Quickly section .... and find an easy way to do that quilt. Oh that is awesome. That's so quick and easy. But if I make it will .... really like it? Probably not; but maybe I could make it and if they don't like it I could always give it to someone that really needs it. Now what fabrics would look good put together?

While at the computer, Kim buzzes me and says she has some new designs that she needs tested. Oh what a cute idea for a baby bib or bib and burp set. I've got the diapers already, I think I'll go ahead and test on them. The tests are always almost perfect if not perfect the first time. I'll just find the fabric to make the coordinating bib with. What's this? Is it another DISTRACTION I see coming my way? Ah, yes it is! Now I have cloth diapers and onesies sitting out on the table, too. What was it I started looking for in the first place?

I've forgotten. And there is another full day of not getting anything done--but I have tons of ideas. Guess I need to write some of these ideas down before I forget them altogether. Now where did I put the last "working" notebook? Oh yeah, its on the shelf. Which one is the current book? and OMG its yet another DISTRACTION! I start looking through the ideas books. Oh yeah, I remember when we started working on this embroidery set. I wonder if Kim and I ever got this set of designs finalized and finished? I wonder which hard drive these designs are on?

And I wonder why I never get anything finished. I wonder why I start looking at things a month or two ahead of time for the grandbabies "events" and never get anything completed on time (if at all). My children think I'm a horrible grandparent because of this trait. And I probably am. I procrastinate and then I have all these DISTRACTIONS that get in the way. Oh and we haven't even talked about the daily distractions of doing laundry, dishes, normal housework (oh yeah, that's how this all started) and then of course there's the "One-eyed Monster." What you're not familiar with the one-eyed monster? Sure you are, most people call it the TV! Y'all excuse me while I go find another DISTRACTION to keep me busy again!

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