A.A.A.D.D. Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests: I decide to wash my car. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trashcan under the table, and notice that the trashcan is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first. But then I think, since I`m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I`m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don`t accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I`ve been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I`m going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won`t remember that it`s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I`ll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the car isn`t washed, the bills aren`t paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers aren`t watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can`t find the remote, I can`t find my glasses, and I don`t remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I`m really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I`m really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I`ll try to get some help for it, but first I`ll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don`t remember to whom it has been sent. Don`t laugh -- if this isn`t you yet, your day is coming! GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL, LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC! | 
