It’s all part of the routine
Do you ever do something so many times that you can’t remember if you did that thing today or if you are remembering yesterday’s time that you did that? For instance, you can’t quite be sure if you locked the front door because you’re not 100% sure that what your mind remembers is from this evening and not the night before?
I do this all of the time.
And now that parenting has become so much of a routine, I’m very much afraid that I’m going to miss a crucial step in the day-to-day tasks that, when accomplished, make the difference between Parent of the Year and Parenting Class. For example, almost every weekday morning I load up my car with my work stuff along with the baby bag and then I take one baby down at a time from our upstairs and load them into the car – carefully buckling them into their baby seats. I then get in the car and drive them to daycare. Inevitably, somewhere along the way, a tiny little voice whispers from somewhere deep inside my brain…
Of course I remembered both babies! Of course I did! Don’t be ridiculous! How could I forget something like that? It’s automatic – like locking the front door… (It is right at this moment that I give in and quickly glance in the mirrors to make sure both are on board)
I may be hearing a little voice and that little voice may be messing with me, but I haven’t forgotten one yet.*
*Really Honey, I haven’t forgotten one. I promise. It’s a joke, okay?
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I haven’t forgotten one yet, but I have had this nightmare more than once.
In my dreams I always forget the boy.
Comment by Sarah — June 7, 2006 @ 6:21 am
I can never forget, because the Munchkin is always saying to me, “Mommy, we take baby!” It’s nice to have that back-up.
Comment by Deanna — June 7, 2006 @ 11:17 am
I do think it’s normal, although I am happy to hear you haven’t forgotten one of them yet.
Comment by Melissa — June 7, 2006 @ 11:57 am
I count to five a lot here.
Comment by Katie — June 7, 2006 @ 1:30 pm
My wife forgot one of our boys at a kid’s birthday party and only realised when she was halfway home. Boy have I got some mileage outta that one!
Comment by Brett — June 7, 2006 @ 7:50 pm
You get double that fear with two! It’s funny how routine both saves you and causes such memory distortion. Joe is always so grateful for the weekend because it’s such a huge difference from the weekdays. I am grateful because he’s home and I can split some of the routine. Saturdays and Sundays are the days when I can use the bathroom alone and talk to an adult all day!
Thanks for popping in to my virtual baby shower! Your kiddos are getting more and more precious!
Comment by Meredith — June 9, 2006 @ 6:27 pm
can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked back to see if I forgot one..
Comment by BrendaS — June 10, 2006 @ 12:23 pm
Every time I’ve heard those stories about a mom or dad going to work and forgetting to drop off the baby at daycare (with tragic results) I remember how fried my brain was when I first went back to work… and that was with only ONE baby.
Still, I did nearly kill my ex-husband when he lost my daughter in Macy’s Herald Square, 2 weeks before CHRISTMAS, when she was 2 years old. He had her in a stroller, not strapped in (huh??) and she just got up and walked away. Here’s the best [read: most nauseating] part: A woman found her out on 7th Avenue and brought her into the jam-packed department store yelling “Emma’s dad? Emma’s dad?” I nearly vomited when he told me. If anyone reading this hasn’t been to Macy’s or NYC 2 weeks before Christmas, it looks ALMOST like Times Square on New Year’s Eve…
Anyway…I can already tell you’ll never forget one of your babies…
Comment by panthergirl — June 11, 2006 @ 1:29 pm
i dont even have 2 babies, but i still do that with my one kid & he’s 2! Its worse when i have my sisters kid as well, i will check and recheck like 4 times to be sure i didnt miss anything, or anyone.
Comment by kristied — June 11, 2006 @ 8:47 pm
Oh, dear….. I forgot one, once, back when I only had one! I was at the supermarket, and loaded the groceries in the car and drove away — leaving the baby still strapped in his little infant seat in the shopping cart! I dimly recall I got pretty far before I realized he wasn`t in the backseat. I have tried to suppress that particular memory, but it keeps coming back to haunt me with “What if…!”
Comment by L. — June 12, 2006 @ 2:28 pm