Mine no longer needs the skills it once required to write reports, enter invoices and memorize all kinds of formulas and codes needed for the world of antivirus software. I would have no clue what to tell a customer if they asked me for help registering, installing, uninstalling or using the software I used to know so well. It no longer needs to remember names of coworkers and business professionals I worked with just a short time ago. These days, if I try to remember a name of someone I worked with, half of the time I draw a blank. I only stopped working 4 years ago.
Things that used to be so easy like adding the tip to the total of a bill now require a double and sometimes triple check. No way am I doing that while talking. I used to go out to lunch all the time and found it no sweat to calculate 18% while giving a co-worker advice about her boyfriend. Now I just double the tax and pause for a few seconds before adding up the total.
I never used to miss my exit, lose my keys or misplace my phone. Now all three happen daily. I think this is because my brain has accepted the challenge of mastering new skills. Mommy skills are tricky and no one else can claim to refine the art like we moms have.
I can find a pink sock in a pile of a million toys, locate the ketchup in the fridge in .5 seconds and tell my husband exactly where his favorite sweatshirt is.
I can tell you the favorite color, cartoon character, sippy cup, fork and plate of both of my girls.
I can multitask like nobody's business when it comes to laundry, dishes, sibling disputes and listening to hubby sum up his day at work.
I can eat a whole plate of food in under two minutes. If I don't I'll never get to eat.
I can carry a sleeping toddler, 5 bags of groceries and a pumpkin spice latte all while closing the car door.
I can manipulate a 4-year-old into doing something she doesn't want to do and even more impressive, a two-year-old too.
I can tell you exactly where every item at Target is located; eggs, scotch tape, doggie bones, socks, cereal, you name it.
I can get myself and my girls ready to leave the house in under 15 minutes including my shower.
I can create dinner out of seemingly nothing in the fridge or cupboard.
I can hear a clicking noise in the other room and tell you exactly what my kid is doing.
I can hear my 4 year old cry and tell you what my 2 year old did to her.
I can predict a tantrum or a skinned knee minutes before it happens.
I have the superhuman mom sense that can prevent my 2 year old from falling off the monkey bars before she even thinks about climbing them.
I have eyes in the back of my head.
I can wipe away tears and make it all better like no one else is able to do.
And we do this all on less sleep than the average person.
These tasks require much more brain power than one would think. Let us not take lightly the tremendous abilities we have developed in the short time we have been in charge of these difficult creatures. Our children are not sucking the smarts out of us; they are challenging us in more ways than anyone has ever challenged us before. If we look distracted and cloudy, it's because we are conquering a new skill, not losing brain cells.
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