Losing it

I admit it. December is a month that finds me particularly scattered, more so than usual. In some ways I love the bustle and hustle. Other times I reach my limit of treading the holiday doings on top of the usual activities of life. Even when I try to keep it simple, I still have the gift list, the decorating, the kids’ concerts, the church meetings, the work functions, the Christmas card (skipped that one this year), the neighborhood goodies and, yes, my lofty expectations that all of this will achieve that memorable holiday experience. How do I know when my treading water has overtaken my capacity to keep up? Oh, it’s hard to miss.

Last night I went to Costco. I parked out in the nether regions of the lot since it was an hour before closing and everyone in the metro area had realized they needed bulk toilet paper and mega packs of dog food.

I went in and spent a good 40 minutes gathering the packs of milk, double sleeves of bagels, containers of blueberries, and three boxes of cookies (for the primary teachers Christmas gift today). I tried to buy my things, pack them into boxes, and head to the car.

That's when it hit me. I DIDN'T have a debit card. Duh! I completely forgot about the fact that it was stolen on Tuesday night. I tried to see if I had enough cash. I didn't. So holding up the line, I quietly explained what had happened to the cashier. She politely voided the transaction and said that she would hold my order for me in the cooler until I could come back with cash or a check. Seriously. Preoccupied doesn’t even begin to describe it. Oy.

After traipsing home to find a check in the box at home, I went back to collect my boxes of cookies and blueberries. I loaded them in the house and loaded the laundry back out to spend a completely festive night at the laundromat, complete with Feliz Navidad playing on the radio. Yes, it is a great week for my washer to break too...

At home, I confessed the whole saga when the boys got home. Go mark this date on the calendar as the day your mom began to lose her mind.

This does, actually, have me worried about my brain. Please tell me you’ve done something forgetful + absent minded + loopy at some point, too?