Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I'm Going Crazy; Don't You Want To Come Along?

I am losing my mind. Seriously losing my mind. I don't know how it happened or where it started, but it's definitely getting worse lately.

A week and a half ago, the school nurse asked me to pick up socks and underwear and sweats for her, since she hadn't had time to buy the $100 worth the PTO buys her every year. I agreed and asked her to send me an email. She did me one better. She wrote the sizes and info down on a sheet of paper for me.

I went to W-M (her suggestion)and got the list out of my purse. Or tried to. It wasn't there. Then I looked on the seat of my car, where it must have fallen out. I hadn't left the car since she gave me the list. It had to be there somewhere. It wasn't. I took a deep breath and hoped I remembered enough of the sizes and items that she'd be happy with my selection and went shopping.

I chose the items - including finding the $3 sweats and $4.25 packs of 6 underwear and $5.50 packs of 10 socks. I loaded everything in my cart and started for the front. That's when I realized that I'd left my nice blue mini-accordion binder that has our tax exempt info in the car. I sighed, left the cart, prayed it would be there when I returned, and headed for my car. Amazingly, the cart was still there, and I purchased my $100 worth of items. Phew.

Then at the book fair last week, I ran into a mom who volunteered to do our ink cartridge recycling for us. She'd start doing drop offs immediately. Yay! I told her that I had everything in the car, and I left her with the cash box while I went to get the info for Office Max and Staples where I turn in our printer cartridges for recycling. I grabbed the Office Max folder that was sitting on the seat where I'd used it the day prior, but I couldn't find my blue mini-accordion binder that has all my school stuff in there -- including two $30 Staples vouchers I need to spend by October 31 and a $15 Staples gift card. And my grocery coupons (including some free items). And our tax exempt information.

Ugh.

It was NOwhere in the car, but I figured I must have brought it into the house when unpacking the car accidentally. I decided to look for it when I got home. When I got home, I looked for it on the island, but the island was (miraculously) clean. It wasn't in the office on my PTO table. In fact, it wasn't in the house at all. My stomach started turning thinking about everything in that binder that I needed. I never take it out of the console of my car, except when I'm using it to shop.

Oops.

I left it behind somewhere. I tried to think back to the last time I'd used it. Maybe at Dominick's? Or Trader Joe's? Or Staples? Or W-M? Then I started counting the days since I knew I'd last seen it and groaned.

On Friday, Little Miss and I ran errands after her gymnastics class as I continued to puzzle over where I might have last seen it. Then I remembered my disaster of a trip to W-M. Where I'd had to hand back some items to the cashier because I was over my $100 limit. Where we had a ton of trouble with my tax exempt card because he couldn't read what number it was and kept coming up with other organizations. Where I was so flustered by the time I walked out of there that I was ready to just go home and go to bed.

I bet I left it in the cart as I put the three bags of socks, underwear, and sweats into my car. And I bet it isn't there anymore.

Since we were headed to the town where the W-M is located anyway, I figured I'd stop in to ask if it made it to the lost and found. There were three people ahead of me, and they all had apparently very complex issues -- to the point where the woman working the customer service desk apologized to the woman in front of me. Fortunately, Little Miss was fairly fascinated trying to identify all the coins on the Coinstar machine.

As I started to describe my precious blue mini-accordion binder, the woman pulled out the lost and found bin. Amazingly, it was sitting on top. And nothing was missing from it. Hallelujah!

But it gets better. My work has an ID badge that we must scan to get into the building. We scan it to access the copier. We scan it when we want to print out anything. We scan it pretty much all day long. We had an off site event requiring our ID badges, and I put mine in my purse.

After that event, I didn't go into the office for a week and a half. As I got ready to go that morning, I realized that I hadn't seen my ID badge in awhile. I verified that it was not tucked into the corner of my car's console where it belonged. I searched my purse. I searched the purse I'd been carrying prior to that. I searched my husband's car. And I decided that I wasn't going to print anything that day.

Last night, I decided I had to find it. I didn't want to pay $15 to get a new ID badge made. I cleaned out my entire car. I searched my purse thoroughly again. I searched my husband's car again. I searched the outfit I'd worn the day of the off site event. I looked everywhere. It was nowhere to be found.

I decided to bite the bullet, and this morning I asked to have a new ID badge printed. The security guard mentioned how he always keeps his in the console of his car so he doesn't lose his. I smiled nicely and bit my tongue. A new one was printed, and for whatever reason, they didn't charge me for it.

I went upstairs. As I was waiting for my computer to turn on, I saw a receipt that had my credit card in it sitting in my purse. Not wanting anything else to get lost and/or stolen, I decided I'd recycle it while waiting. I pulled out another three or four receipts and other papers that I no longer needed. As I poked through my purse, I felt something in a side pocket of my purse.

You'll never guess what was nestled in there. Of course, it was my old ID badge. How I didn't manage to find it the other thirty times I looked in my purse, I'll never know.

Ironically, my new ID badge swipes me in and out of the building, but it asks me for some unknown PUK code when I try to print or copy anything. Fortunately, my old ID badge still works. So now I have two ID badges. How long before you think I lose both of them at this rate?

Does anyone have any good memory drugs? I can't afford to lose it like this!

13 comments:

septembermom October 27, 2009 at 9:11 PM  

I think I'm going crazy along with you :) My cell phone seems to disappear every time I need it. That most important school paper (that I just had in my hand) seems to disappear for days. It will miraculously appear in the usual paper spot. I think there are elves working against us busy moms :)

Melisa Wells October 27, 2009 at 10:39 PM  

You're gonna love this...

ME TOO! (and I'm older than you, so you're gonna have to be upset to know that this doesn't get better w/ age. Sorry Charlie!)

Cookie October 27, 2009 at 11:32 PM  

Yikes! I'm going crazy too. Glad yours worked out :)

Claudya Martinez October 27, 2009 at 11:36 PM  

I used to have a good memory, now -not so much. How awesome is it that you got your binder back?

Unknown October 27, 2009 at 11:38 PM  

Don't worry - it's just the Christmas gnomes getting into shape for the upcoming season.

WeaselMomma October 28, 2009 at 5:22 AM  

Oh honey, sounds like you need a vacation!

Tara R. October 28, 2009 at 7:54 AM  

I'm forever wandering around my house asking 'why did I come in the kitchen?' 'What was I looking for in the bedroom? '

I'd forget my name if is wasn't written on my clothes tags.

You're doing too much, you just can't hold all that in your brain at one time. Sounds like you do need a day off.

Mary October 28, 2009 at 10:38 AM  

I bet you are pregnant! ;)

Karen October 29, 2009 at 7:13 AM  

I've been living in this demented world for quite a while now. Sometimes it's okay because I forget what I forgot, but other times I just want to shoot myself.

Pat October 29, 2009 at 10:38 AM  

I forget and lose things all the time and find them months later, so I feel your pain. I attribute it to being very unorganized (the losing of things). You have a tremendous number of things going on in your life and things you must keep track of, so it's perfectly understandable! You are very organized, so just think how much worse it would be if you were unorganized!

Michelle October 29, 2009 at 9:18 PM  

Kelly - The cell phone goes sometimes, too, but luckily I've always found it (knock on wood). It's totally the elves!

Melisa - Of course you, too!

Cookie - It appears to be a worse epidemic than swine flu ;)

Unknown Mami - Getting the binder back? SO totally awesome. With everything in it, too. I'm honestly shocked -- thrilled but shocked.

Dan - Great, you mean it's only going to get worse?

WeaselMomma - No kidding. Do you have any suggestions? :)

Tara - Oh I so do... which is why I'm shortly taking off three weeks. Yay!

Mary - So. Not. Funny. grrr.

Karen - So it's actually a good thing that I realize that I forget things? Hmmm... interesting philosophy.

Pat - MONTHS later? I need days! And I am organized -- that's what drives me nuts. Things have their place and a way they're supposed to be... and they aren't :)

Mrs4444 November 1, 2009 at 6:08 PM  

Sounds like you're a bit over-committed. Slow down a bit, and you'll find your memory comes back real quick :)

You're a great mom; I'm sure the school loves you :)

Michelle April 7, 2010 at 10:52 PM  

What Was Done - Absolutely true. But sometimes you just have those days that make you realize your brain is slowly fading!

Mrs4444 - Moi? Overcommitted? NEVER.

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