And the Diagnosis is...Momnesia!

I’ve managed to set off my smoke alarm not once, but twice in 2 days. And one of those times I nearly burned down the house…again! As one who has prided herself in NOT living up to the blonde stereotype and who has always had a stellar memory and ability to multi-task, I am freaking out just a little bit. Why? Because I’ve developed a serious case of Momnesia, which according to my definition, involves utter loss of the ability to remember anything that’s not written down and right in front of oneself and severe impairment to ones multi-tasking abilities. Symptoms include but are not limited to, missing scheduled meetings, starting tasks and then forgetting you started them (hence the smoke alarm situation), performing tasks with severe absent-mindedness, leaving your house without a jacket when it’s snowing out, and thinking you sent an email when really you just thought about sending said email. If you exhibit 3 or more of these symptoms, it is fair to say that you meet the criteria for the diagnosis of Momnesia. Seeing that I now exhibit all 5 symptoms on a regular basis, I’m offering myself up as the poster child for Momnesia.

Some call it pregnancy brain and I’ve even read articles that show evidence that an actual change in the brain does occur during pregnancy. How could it not with all of those crazy hormones laying siege on a woman’s body? But what does science have to say about the pregnancy brain that just keeps on giving even after that little bundle of joy is born? I like to chalk it up to the fact that I have so much more to remember now that I am responsible for a little being who is entirely dependent on me to keep him alive. It’s as though I’m suddenly trying to cram 3x the amount of information in my brain than I was in the time of B.B. (Before Ben). I like to think that I am more spacey and forgetful of tasks because I care so much about my little guy and my attention is fixed on him and his needs. At least that would explain why I got so pre-occupied with the mini photo-shoot of my cute little man that I forget about the sugar water I had boiling on the stove in preparation to candy some almonds. That is until my smoke alarm started calling out, “fire, fire, fire” and I saw smoke billowing from the kitchen. Ooops. And that wasn’t even the one that almost burned the house down!

It could be pretty depressing to think about spending the rest of my life with Momnesia. But I’ve decided that instead of fighting it, I’m gonna try rolling with it. This may mean letting go of some of my pride, admitting that my husband might actually remember a conversation better than me now, and reducing some of the expectations that I have for myself. And while safety is obviously of utmost importance and I really need to work on turning on the right burner and remembering when I’ve started something on the stove, I also need to show myself a little grace. After all, I have taken on an enormously important new role, one that comes with oodles to learn and remember, but one I cherish, that of being a mom. So, there Momnesia, you’re not going to get the best of me because I’m armed with grace for myself, a sense of humor, and a mighty good smoke alarm!