I forgot what this is about

Hey, hey, hey! It’s me again. After only two short years off, I’m back to blogging. Not sure why, just feeling inspired…or wordy. So much has happened. And so little, really. I have been thinking lately about my tendency to jump topics or get sidetracked in the blink of an eye. I realize now where my children get their ADD. People often joke about having ADD, but we are truly a household full of attention deficit disordered individuals. Out of eight family members, five are diagnosed, one is undiagnosed but clearly afflicted and two are untouched by the disorder, except when having to suffer the repercussions of living with six people who cannot get from the kitchen to the bathroom without stopping to play with a piece of lint on the carpet.

In case you are wondering, I am the undiagnosed one. This really hit home during my kids’ parent-teacher conferences this week. It’s funny how kids can be so different, but yet so alike. My three elementary students all had basically the same conference. I could have scheduled one conference and gotten the gist of how all three are doing in school. All three teachers told me my kids LOVE to write. They will write and write and write. That’s great! I love that. However, one teacher handed me a stack of incomplete math assignments, either not started or never turned in. The other two teachers told me the kids need to work on homework completion and turning it in when it is completed. Another issue is getting their reading logs signed each day.

I often hear myself telling my kids, “You have the same things to do every single day. How can you forget to do them?” Well, how come I can’t seem to remember to sign their reading logs every day? How come I can’t remember to ask to see their homework? It’s not like it’s a new thing. When teachers (or doctors) suggest having a regular quiet time set aside every night for homework, I hang my head in shame. It makes so much sense, but I FORGET! How does this happen?! I have no explanation. I get home from work and there are just so many interesting, and not so interesting, things happening that grab my attention. OR, better yet, the kids are occupied and QUIET. So rare at my house, I cannot bear to stir things up. Homework and reading logs be damned! Then, by the time the action picks up again, guess what?! I have totally forgotten about the homework.

I’m sure for the next couple of weeks I will be very diligent. I will make sure their work is done and I have signed their reading logs. I will be feeling so on top of the situation. Then, that piece of lint will catch my attention and we will be back to square one.