My Life is So Nuts, I Forgot Passover
I haven’t been writing recently. Why? Because my entire household is turned upside down by plasterers, painters, floor re-finishers, plumbers, and more. Last year, our house sustained a lot of damage due to back to back ice storms, with water draining down the walls, through windows and cabinets and landing on the floor. Not just in one room- in just about every room.
So it was time to call in the disaster team.
Which meant that I had to, for starters, pack up my entire home office and remove all the contents into another area. And that was just one room.
You know that when ADD is in the picture, dealing with moving, organizing, changing routines, etc. is nothing short of a semi emotional meltdown. Well, all of these things really threw me off.
There was one benefit from all of this- we had to vacate the house for 18 days in order for the floors to be repaired, so I went to Florida. Twice, in fact.
However, all the stress and physical efforts took its toll on me and I ended up with an injured back for most of my time in Florida.
So what does that have to do with Passover?
We returned two nights before the holiday. I was so swept up with the insanity of my life that I… forgot. For those of you who are not Jewish, imagine your life being so hectic that you forgot that Christmas was in two days. Yep.
Sometimes you just have to laugh. <wry grin>
Comment
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Comment by Debi Banzhaf, MSW on April 3, 2010 at 11:09am -
Menopause seems to bring out lots of things in us! My ADHD has gotten worse - forgetting short-term memory things, and the whole forgetting words in the middle of sentences is driving me nuts. I use bio-identical hormones, which helps a lot. I started with the regular Premarin, Prem-pro stuff - side effects were no fun. I like the bio-identicals much better. Still, I forget things, even taking the same Adderall I've taken for 5 years.
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Comment by Liza Wasser on April 3, 2010 at 10:47am -
Actually, it was Passover this year that got me thinking I might have ADD. I never had to sit through a seder during my childhood and I've spent the last 30 years raising 6 kids, so I never actually sat through a whole seder, what with jumping up and down to deal with babies and kids. This year, I thought I would explode! I could not sit through it. I kept whispering to my dh to speed it up. It was torture for everyone. My adult children told me afterwards that I was the only one who had a problem. They thought it was fun. My psychologist daughter suggested I might have ADD. An epiphany! This could explain a lot. I'm now in the process of doing research and my daughter and I are looking into getting me a diagnosis and treatment. Menopause doesn't help, either. I think maybe I was borderline my whole life, but menopause pushed me over the edge. Forgetting Passover. Yeah, I can see that.
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Comment by Kathleen Christensen on April 3, 2010 at 12:26am
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Yes, perimenopause/early menopause + ADD = um, what was I saying?
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Comment by Debi Banzhaf, MSW on April 2, 2010 at 4:57pm
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I cannot imagine remembering ANYTHING if I had that kind of chaos in my life - we have had a mess in the basement, including mold in the walls from water, moving books and wet papers in boxes around. I had so much trouble juggling that and other things (work, kids, etc.). The hard thing about Easter and Passover is that they're not always at the same time every year! I forgot that last Sunday was Palm Sunday until I actually got to Church! I've got some things going on now with my health, including ADHD + perimenopause -> menopause (forgetting words mid-sentence) that have distracted me even more!
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Comment by Addy Bell on April 2, 2010 at 4:11pm
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I haven't forgotten a major holiday yet, but I forget birthdays all the time ... sometimes even my own :)
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Comment by Leanne on April 2, 2010 at 2:15pm
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I forgot our anniversary last year. People joke about men not remembering their wife's birthday or their anniversary. But in my world, I have to be told because every day is the same to me. I get up, the chaos begins, I take care of my 4 children all day, I put them in bed, the chaos ends, I sleep (off and on), I get up, the chaos begins.......and they tell me one day I'll miss all this, "when they're all grown and gone". Hrumph.
Our anniversary is next week. It's on the calendar. I can't miss it.....can I?
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Comment by Lizzette on April 2, 2010 at 1:45pm -
:) Well, if I had to go through all of that, trust me I have given my husband clear instructions to sedate me and then wake me up when all is clear! LOL I've had similar situations, not as bad as yours but similar and I never handle them well. I am fortunate and blessed to have a wonderful, understanding husband (whose not ADD) and my mother (who is still very young) on my side. Both my husband and my mother are great at the details that seem to send me into a Tazmanian Devil cause I can't wrap my mind around what needs to be done. (I have some control issues also :) lol) Anyhow, once they get control of it, I generally can be of great help but not usually the other way around. I also have to agree with Suzy, why didn't any of your support systems help you out? Was it because everyone else thought you had it under control somehow and that you were going to pull it off anyway? Lol! Your absolutely correct when you say that sometimes you have to LAUGH! I try to always remind myself of that and I admit I'm not always successful, but I try! I hope everyone is experiencing a good if not decent and healthy holiday (whichever you may celebrate). Thank you all for your post, many days it puts a huge smile on my face and it helps me get through the day. Btw, any thoughts of peri-menopausal or menopausal stages with ADHD? I think I might be peri-menopausal and the thought of that with my ADHD is frightening! :)
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Comment by Katie on April 2, 2010 at 1:35pm -
Yeah.. So I can totally relate. I have night mares of forgetting my kids birthdays. Easter is in 2 days and I haven't gotten the kids easter stuff yet.. I must go NOW!!!
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Comment by Suzy on April 2, 2010 at 12:58pm -
Wow, that IS crazy. So I need to ask. Assuming your family and friends knew about your situation, why didn't any of them invite you to a seder? You could've handled a dozen hard boiled eggs....maybe.
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Comment by MaryJo Wagner on April 2, 2010 at 12:46pm -
Love this post. I can so relate. Reminded me of the time I forgot to pick my mother up at the airport when she was flying clear across the country to visit.
And loved your post about not relaxing on vacation. I can't even relate to "vacation." Boring, boring, boring. Never realized it was part of this life with ADHD. Thanks for making that connection for me. I have friends who are retired and I've yet to figure out what they do. Not me. I love working. My retirement plan is go to Guatemala, learn Spanish, volunteer work teaching ESL and internet marketing --while keeping my own internet marketing biz going. And maybe in my spare time, I'll learn weaving. Now if that isn't an ADHD plan, don't know what is!
Meanwhile, I second Kathleen's comments below. Mold is a serious health hazard. Make sure the clean up people are dealing with it and not just covering it up. Can't imagine the mess you're going through--would be dreadful without ADHD! Hope you and your house are feeling better soon!
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