by Emilie Grace

Created on: October 05, 2007

Wait, what was I writing about? I hate to admit it, but my forgetfulness came upon me during pregnancy, and has yet to go away. I fear forgetfulness is here to stay unless I forget that I have the habit of being forgetful.

While I was pregnant, I slowly noticed myself forgetting simple things I needed to pick up at the grocery. I didn't think anything of it. "Just getting old," I admitted to myself. But, as the months went by and my stomach grew larger, my mind was constantly going blank. I decided from now on I would write a grocery list, and take it with me to do the shopping. Bad thing about that idea, I'd get to the grocery and realize I had left the list at home.

One afternoon I had gotten home from shopping only to discover later that my debit card was missing. I usually take the time to put my card back in my wallet, but obviously my mind was in la-la land that day. I dumped out my purse, looked through my bags, and tried painstakingly to retrace my steps to where I might have lost it. I was soon in tears. At that moment, I remembered I had left something in my car. Upon waddling out to my Nissan Altima, I noticed this green shiny thing sitting in the passenger's seat. It was my debit card! For goodness sake! I was so excited and relieved, those pregnancy hormones kicked in full blast again as I bawled my eyes out. I must have looked pretty stupid to the other apartment dwellers as I stood there bawling over a little Visa card. Thank God I found my card, and thank God no one had broken my window to grab the card that was in plain sight!

I had to start double checking things. Did I unplug my curling iron? Did I turn off the stove? Did I put my keys back where I could find them? Did I put my debit card back in my wallet? Did I put my grocery list in my purse? So many silly, simple things to be done, but if I didn't do it, I would have lost my mind completely.

I can't say after having the baby that the forgetfulness got any better. I actually believe it has gotten worse. I can remember so many years back with I was a kid I constantly teased my mom for being forgetful. I can't even count how many times we had to turn the van around to go back home to make sure the iron was turned off.

What can be done about this problem? You have to learn to laugh at yourself. At the moment that you're running around like a crazed cartoon character trying to remember what you were looking for, it might not seem funny. Believe me, later on, it gets pretty ridiculous remembering how you must have looked while searching for your keys. I can't stress enough, either, about just taking the extra time to do a double check. Of course, you could also go to Sam's Club and buy a bulk box of Post It notes, and leave them around the house as reminders. Just keep your windows shut so a gust of wind doesn't blow through your house and carry your reminders away!

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