Day 6: The Lament of the Absentminded
I never zip my purse or backpack closed.

I don’t charge my iPad, laptop, or any other device till it’s almost dead.

I can’t ever remember where I put my phone.

And I can never figure out how much time it will take me to do anything, be it to travel, leave a room, or do a task.

Like my mother before me, I am habitually distracted.

It’s certainly not my intention to never pay attention or plan ahead. But somehow I end up here, time and time again.

I’m pretty good at focusing at work and organizing ideas and various other abstract tasks. But when it comes to real, physical things in the real, physical world I am totally lost. Ask me to guess how long something will take to do, or how to get somewhere, or almost anything quantitative, and I’ll fumble over my words until admitting I have no idea.

Sometimes this is more of a problem than others. I get lost frequently, far too much for someone who’s lived in the same area of the same city for the past twelve years. I almost always leave my house for work twice. Once at the planned time, and then again after my inevitable return inside to retrieve something I forgot, usually my phone, keys, or wallet.

I am sometimes frustrated with my mother when she forgets what seem to be basic tasks. Fortunately, God gave me the same failing, for the purpose of growing in humility I guess.

I’ve always been a head-in-the-clouds, lives-in-her-own-world kind of person, and it seems as though mild incompetence at basic tasks is the price I pay for it.

I’d like to be able to leave on time, or guess how many people are in a room, or recognize my friends’ cars, but these skills just don’t seem to be in the cards for me at the moment. Perhaps one day I’ll get there. Until then, hopefully my failings will continue to bring about humility in me and mirth in others.
['Kaily Garcia']
['Creativity', 'Distraction', 'Writing', 'Daily Blog', 'Writing Every Day']