In Defense of the Mommy Brain

Mommy Brain.  You’ve all heard the term, right?  I actually looked it up just to make sure I hadn’t imagined it and that it is in fact a real thing.

And it is.  Apparently it is the strange phenomenon of forgetfulness. 

The other day I was running errands with my 18-month-old.  I was planning to go straight home afterwards, and my husband was going to pick up our four-year-old from preschool. 

Somehow, after running my errands I ended up at my son’s school, which is a good 10 minutes away from my home.  I didn’t even plan to go there.  I didn’t even realize I had gone there until I arrived! 

The culprit?  Mommy Brain.

Yes, I have fallen victim to this phenomenon of forgetfulness so many times. 

I used to be so on top of everything.  Or at least I felt like I was.  I know for sure that I didn’t forget as much as I do now.  And while forgetting things to most people seems like something a very unprofessional person does, I promise I actually am very responsible AND professional.

The problem is, I am so responsible that I am now in charge of not only my own life, but three (or four if you count my husband) other lives on top of my own.

Not only am I a stay-at-home mommy, but I am also a work-from-home-mommy.  I also am the treasurer of a non-profit.  I pay the bills in our home, stay on top of the health insurance, doctors appointments, play dates with friends.  I am a playgroup leader of a local mom’s club, I am a friend, I am a wife, a neighbor, a human being who can’t remember that on Tuesday her son needs to wear green while her daughter goes to dance and her little one has Gymboree, but only if he misses the Monday class which for the life of me I can’t remember if he went or not!

And that’s just the first layer of responsibilities. 

Now, take all of the responsibilities you have during the day and then, as you do each task, interrupt yourself at least seven times.  Maybe eight for good measure.  By the time you get through one task, you’ve most likely forgotten the next one or, if you’re like me, have settled into a good television show oblivious that you never completed your task.

Because that is what Mommy Brain does!  It literally makes me forget.  Mommy Brain has made me turn into someone I don’t recognize.  Mommy Brain has made me wear a shirt backwards without realizing it.  No, it doesn’t JUST happen in the movies.  This is real life.  I repeat, this is not a drill, it is real life.

Mommy Brain has made me turn into someone I don’t recognize.  Mommy Brain has made me wear a shirt backwards without realizing it.  No, it doesn’t JUST happen in the movies.  This is real life. 

And so while I would love the world to believe I’ve got all of my ducks in a row, that would be a lie.  I’m really exactly like a duck.  Cool, calm and collected on the surface, but kicking as hard as I can underwater.  And sometimes not even cool, calm or collected. 

I know this Mommy Brain will get better as my kids get older and I’m not responsible for picking boogers out of their noses.  Until then, I will wear my Mommy Brain badge with pride. (You’ll be able to tell it’s me because the badge will be upside down and backwards)