Are You Ready?

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December is a busy time of the year for me, and maybe it is for you, too. My family happens to celebrate Christmas, but regardless of what you celebrate, it seems as though everyone is rushing around just a little bit more in December.

If you celebrate a holiday this time of year, or find yourself extra busy for some other reason, are you ready? It’s December 5th, and I can tell you that I’m not.

I have my cards started, at least the bigger portion of them. I haven’t bought a single gift, nor given more than a passing thought as to what I might buy when the time comes. No list, no checking it twice. I have a general idea of what I might cook on Christmas day, so I feel comfortable with that. One day I’ll tell you about inviting 5 extra people over for Christmas dinner and then forgetting to go to the grocery store.

Can you relate to any of what I’m saying? If you are a woman or a mom with Attention Deficit Disorder, I’ll bet you can. That’s because my behavior is very ADD – putting things off until the last minute, thinking I have plenty of time, overcommitting myself. (Did I mention that 48 of those Christmas cards are part of an exchange I agreed to do with online friends?)

And you know what else? On some level, we enjoy this. No – more than that – we feed on it. It gives us a chance to show and tell others how busy and overworked we are. Yes, we may very well be just the same, but isn’t it good to have a visual aid, too?

You see, part of it is our need for an adrenaline rush, but part of it, too, is just a great big cover up. If people see you as constantly busy and rushed and stressed all the time, they’re apt to be more forgiving when you slip up or forget. Much better that they think you’re overworked than to realize that it’s just another ADD moment for you.

Having Attention Deficit Disorder makes our lives more difficult than that of someone without AD/HD, but admitting it to others makes us feel weak and puts us in the role of a victim. Nobody likes to feel that way.

Let’s see if we can’t begin to change things this month. Let’s start by putting one thing on our to do list and then actually doing it today. Make sure it’s something reasonable; planning to decorate the entire house or do all of your shopping at once isn’t reasonable.

Me? I’m making a list. Checking it twice will have to wait until tomorrow.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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