Do You Have Mom Brain?

Today is May the 4th. When I was tagged in yet another May The Fourth picture, I started to realise that maybe I’m missing something here because all these lovely people who are tagging me can’t possibly know that I have never watched Star Wars, and therefore won’t get the joke they are all kindly trying to include me in. It must be a joke.  

After saying it ‘out loud’ in my head (yup, I know right?) I then looked at the corner of my screen, then down at my diary and it clicked, today is the 4th of May. May the Fourth!

Click! Engage brain!

It is now 10.08am and I have been tagged in or sent at least five ‘May The Fourth Be With You’ messages on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

And I just got it!

When I confessed this to one of my blogging buddies and she very kindly put it down to ‘mom brain’.

I gratefully accepted this excuse, because the alternative is almost embarrassing!

My ‘Mom Brain’ is so bad that I barely even know what the date is. Days of the week – NO Problem. But the date? Pass.

It got me thinking though …

What is “Mom Brain”.

The statement is often used to explain away things that mom’s forget, but I have a theory:

Mom’s are expected to carry around so much information in their heads that there really isn’t room for much more and so our brains discard irrelevant ‘stuff’ to make space for important stuff.

Here is a VERY short list of things my mom brain has decided it does needs to remember:

• Who likes their sandwiches cut into triangles, and who wants them cut in squares.
• Who was the last one to feed the cats, it’s the other child’s turn next … never forget!
• Which day of the week it is because then I know where I’m supposed to chauffeur the kids to that day; Mon – eldest dancing, Tues – youngest’s dancing, Wed – both dance, Thur & Friday – swimming but never the same time as the week before.
• My husband’s entire calendar for work and play! Without this I can’t actually plan anything else! I must remember where he is at all times:- Joburg, work, biking, meetings, dinners, biking, hunting, biking. I’m sure you get the picture.
• Who doesn’t like what in their dinner. Sometimes it’s just easier to pick the onions out for one, and the mushrooms out for the other.
• School schedule including parents evenings, soccer tournaments, what day is tennis, when the school holidays are.
• The balance of my bank account.
• The car mileage to calculate when the next service is due

Here is a short list of things my mom brain has decided it doesn’t need to remember:

• The date (clearly!) unless of course it’s to remember birthdays!
• When all the vehicles licence need to be renewed.
• When the passports need to be renewed.
• The names of my children – when I shout they know who is in trouble regardless of the name I’m using, using the correct name is really not important.

Now some of you may think I have my priorities all screwed up. If you think it’s more important for me to remember the date of passport renewal rather than which shape the sandwiches must be cut in, you are clearly not a mom.

Did you know that EVERYTHING on the second list and some on the first can be found in or programmed into your phone calendar with a lovely twinkly tune to remind you.

I do, because I have a Mom Brain!