U3A Writing: AAADD
Do you know what the acronym AAADD means? Read Shirley Lingwood's entertaining article to find out. That is - if you can remember how to read.
Recently I was diagnosed with AAADD - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests itself.
I decide to wash my car. As I start towards the garage, I spot the mail on the hall table. I should go through the mil before I wash the car.
I lay the car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the bin under the table and notice that the bin is full. So I put the bills back on the table and empty the bin
first.
I see my chequebook on the table, but there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go to the desk, where I find the bottle of juice that I had been drinking earlier. I’m going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the juice aside so that I don’t knock it over. However, the juice is getting warm and should be put in the fridge to keep cool.
Heading towards the kitchen with the juice, a vase of flowers on the worktop catches my eye. They need to be watered.
I set the juice down and spot my reading glasses, for which I have been searching all morning. I had better put them back on my desk, but first I must water the flowers.
I set the glasses down on the worktop, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. Tonight when we sit down to watch TV, we shall be looking for the remote, and no one will remember it’s on the kitchen table. I should put it back in the lounge where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but some spills on the floor. So I put the remote back down on the kitchen table, and get some towels to 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,
here is a warm bottle of juice sitting on the table,
the flowers aren’t watered,
there’s still only one cheque in my chequebook,
I can’t find the remote control,
I can’t find my glasses and don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
I’m trying to figure out why nothing got done today. It really is quite baffling because I know I was busy all day long, and I’m really tired.
I know this is a serious problem and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail.
Do me a favour, will you? Forward this message to whoever you think might enjoy it, because I don’t remember who I’ve already sent it to.
