Yep, so I finally did it.  I finally broke down and bought a day planner.   It’s nothing fancy, and yes I do have an iPhone with a calendar, but it does help me to at least remember day to day events.   Unfortunately, I’ve still managed to forget one thing…a daily snack for my child.

I got an email today from Davey’s teacher.   She wanted to let me know that Davey hasn’t had a snack in his bag the past two days of school and she wanted to know if everything was alright.   Yikes!  I explained to her that it was completely my fault, that I was used to sending in a bag of treats monthly for the entire class.  It’s a lot easier to remember things once a month as opposed to every other day.   She explained it was alright, that she had provided him with some goldfish from a stash she keeps on hand (I suppose for dead beat parents like me).

I felt so guilty while reading the email.  I envisioned my sweet little Davey looking around at all the kids and their super yummy snacks all made by hand I’m sure from their super moms.   I could see his shoulders slump as his teacher gave him some of what she had, his embarrassment growing red across his body over the fact that his mom forget a snack.   I made him feel like Alexander, from the book Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  When he got in the car, I immediately apologized to him.  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “that’s ok.  I accept your apology.”  I prodded him more, eager (for some strange reason) to see if I had truly scarred my child.   Thankfully I didn’t, but this has me wondering just when did I become so forgetful?

I’ve always been a timely person, remember birthdays, following through with commitments, never needing a to-do list.   These days if I don’t literally write down the words “pack Davey’s snack”, then it’s like I’m suffering early onset Alzheimers, which worries me.

I’m told it comes with the territory of being a mom, that your mind is so overloaded it seems to go on the fritz from time to time.  So, does this mean that I will always be this way?   I will forever be a slave to the day planners and calendars I’ve NEVER used before in my 40 years on this earth?  I guess so.   In the meantime, I’ve now put a sticky note on the fridge, on Davey’s back pack, my bathroom mirror, and my steering wheel to remind me to pack Davey’s snack.