The other day I read that absent-minded children are actually
more intelligent. Their brains process many things at once. Yippeee, there’s
hope for ours. Especially since I’ve been worried that with genes from S and me
– they had no chance in life.
Niks’ first teacher complained he used to be walking along
the pre-school wall when the other kids were chanting their ABCs. And Neel
takes 25 minutes to walk from the gate up home – which should take a normal kid
2 minutes.
Let me dwell on us now. And why we’re worried. For those who
don’t know S and me, that is.
I forget everything. And I can’t even blame it on ageing,
because I was always this way. Last week, I threw S’s carefully prepared boiled
eggs and toast into the sink, while I put a plate of egg shells before him. Ok,
so I was in a hurry... but still...
I forget to phone people back, to pay bills, to collect
payments, to put the recycling out, to sign the homework. And S is no better.
His spectacles are legend! They always lose their way. When he’s rushing out to
work, the house needs to go on a hunt – above the bar cabinet, in the laundry
basket, in the trouser pocket, on the newspaper pile – no, no, no....I last saw
it there, no here, no – where did you last keep it ? If I knew, it wouldn’t be
lost, would it?
The other day, I went on a hunt for the sugar jar – it
wasn’t in the food cabinet, not in the fridge, not in the microwave... I
informed everyone that white sugar was poison!!!! And they would have to bear
the bitter jitters from now on... till I found Neel’s school belt neatly rolled
up near the tea jar. Aha! So, naturally I walked to the school uniform shelf – and voila – the sugar jar in all its
sweetness, was sitting neatly on the white shirts. It’s probably as
absent-minded as the rest of us are.
I know it’s normal for everyone to take a while to realise
they’re married and settle in and all – but S and I regularly locked ourselves
in or out of our house in the early days. Is that normal?
Now – the good news – who cares if it’s normal? It’s a sign
of intelligence! Read the report! Yippeee. So when I send Niks to get my book
from the bedroom, and I find him 10 minutes later, following the path of an ant
up the stairs – I won’t have a breakdown. No – I’ll say, ‘Niks, you may lose your way,
and your memory, and your spectacles and your wallet, and even your job some
day... what a very intelligent thing to do!’
