I’ve been through some rough times personally lately, due to my daughter’s illness. Most of my time has been spent at the hospital, and as a result, everything else has been somewhat neglected. I was beating myself up over it the other day, when some of my daughter’s friends came to visit because the house looked like a tornado had gone through it.

It’s ridiculous to worry about dustbunnies on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink when a loved one’s life is literally in the balance, but that’s what I had been doing. ADD, of course, was my excuse.

OK, I’ll admit it. My house doesn’t always meet Suzy Homemaker standards, even when there is no crisis to deal with. And sometimes I forget things or misplace them. Yeah, that’s my ADD.

So you can call me disorganized, and scattered, and tell me that I’m no good at following through with things. On the other hand, you’ll also have to admit that I’m smart, and creative, and sometimes I’m even the cool mom, even if I do have dustbunnies.

Who else’s mom would let 3 little girls hold an elaborate funeral (complete with video tape and refreshments afterwards) for a mouse the cat caught in the garage? And how many Suzy Homemakers would allow French cooking in the kitchen or participate in water gun fights in the house? French cooking, for those of you who don’t know, is taking anything and everything in the kitchen and stirring it together in a bowl. It’s rarely edible, but you never know.

So what kind of cool ADD gifts do you have?

Starting/working on too many things at once can also be thought of as multi-tasking – a valuable skill to have these days.

Are you immature, like me, playing water guns in the house? That can also be an unique ability to see the world through the eyes of a child, a way to recapture your youth.

Forgetful? Misplaced things? That just makes you an absent minded professor, with bigger, loftier ideas in your head.

Are you a daydreamer, with your head in the clouds? Look around you – how do you think your computer, your cell phone, cars, planes, space travel got here? Someone had their head in the clouds, and dreamed of making those things a reality. What are you going to make?

This list is just a start. The next time you find yourself putting yourself down because of your AD/HD, try to find ways to look at it from the positive side instead. That’s what I’m going to do, right after I buy myself a new squirt gun…