The Children Have Officially Eaten My Brain!

On By Anna EastlandIn Friendship, motherhood

So being a busy, scatterbrained mom I tend to be running a little behind, and it’s quite a feat to actually get anywhere on time. But today I set a new record…I can’t say for being on time really…but for extreme earliness.

I was determined, whatever it took, to make it to my dear friend Penny’s retirement dinner. She has been the secretary at my midwifery clinic for all my 6 children, so she has known me since the earliest days of my motherhood. She has always been there for me with her attentive warmth and kindness. I really wanted to honour her today by coming with a hug, a gift, and a poem.

So I scrambled to find babysitting, called up and down my phone list, and finally found help in my kind upstairs neighbours. After getting the kids ready for bed and settled in with a movie, I threw on a dress, necklace and heels and ran out the door. Literally.

On the sky train I wrote Penny’s poem: “My Penny is Worth a Million Bucks,” grinning that I got it done just on time…then I scooted as fast as my heels would carry me, scrambling down shortcuts and asking directions from friendly folks outside their house.

By the time I got to the pub I was over an hour late…but better late, than never, right? Inside it was very quiet and none of the staff had heard of Penny’s retirement dinner. At all. Oh, dear….
Beginning to worry I checked the online invitation. I’m sure it was on Wednesday, I’m sure! Oh! Oh! It was next Wednesday. Which is also next month! I was one week early, and not even in the right month.  A world’s biggest idiot sign glowed brightly above my head as I slunk quietly out the door.

That’s it!  The children have officially eaten my brain. What was left of it. No wonder they’re hungry all the time! Anyway, kicking myself and laughing I took a selfie to prove my ridiculousness:

  Then, like a good mom with free time on her hands, I went a shopped a sale at Gymboree, and brought home some summer clothes for the kids.  And then like a good blogger I worked on this post on the bus ride home. Now I just have to work on being a good invitation reader…

Well, I hope this made Katie from Australia laugh, because she writes the best “fail” posts, and this day was sure a big belly flop! But if it made you laugh than it was a worthy misadventure…

(See Katie’s crazy stories if days gone wrong at https://laptopontheironingboard.wordpress.com/category/fail-2/)

And at least I got Penny’s poem done…in my traveling studio….ehem, sky train….which is actaully a much less distracting atmosphere than my house.
Tomorrow, after I put my silly self with my sore feet to bed, I’ll share Penny’s poem with you all.

Goodnight, sleep well, and may your brain be with you!

(I hear it’s nice…)

17 thoughts on “The Children Have Officially Eaten My Brain!”

  4. Franci

    My dear Anna is sounds very familiar what happens to your dinner. Last time happens to me in Caracas last year for the feast of Saint Jose Maria and the logistics was a lot of walk. Well I let god being in control of my time and I decide like you embrace the moment. God bless.

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  5. Deanna

    Yep. Except I got the whole FAMILY ready. We went, walked all over the place trying to find the secret door to the banquet that ALL the kids would be receiving an award at. Oh my. Wrong day. It had happened already……

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  7. Robert McCandless

    So funny, so human, so relatable. Thank you! I had three no-brain days here. But I had a good excuse: “It takes one day of recovery for every time zone you cross”. Unfortunately, I ran out of that excuse yesterday. Anyway, I’m walking without pain, feel good, love swimming and being in nature . Doing OK with the raw diet (fast and pray, the Bible says?), and the various programs here. Love and blessings from Sunny Florida. Dad

    There is so much peace to find here.

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  8. Oh WOW! How did I miss this? What a great Fail post! But it’s not a fail, not really – you weren’t late after all: you were really, really early! It reminds me of my ill-fated visit to the Health Nurse a few years ago. I’ve been reflecting on how much I love the secretaries at my baby doctor’s rooms lately as well. I have been coming to see them for ten years now. They’re a special breed!

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      2. Exactly! I’ve always found that being able to start writing the funny story of what’s happening in my head as silly stuff happens helps it feel like a fun opportunity instead of just a pain! 😉

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