My husband and I were driving home from brunch with friends on a gorgeous, sunny day while two children wailed in the backseat. The house, the final destination, was in view. And then, in the rearview mirror: blue lights flashing.
My husband pulled the car over, on our block, and rolled down his window. Of course, our 3.5-year-old began to pepper us with questions about why the police had pulled over Daddy. My husband was wondering this, too.
The officer walked up to my husband’s window and asked us about our car registration. I immediately apologized because, you see, this was all my fault. I paid our car registration online, opened the RMV letter that contained our new sticker — and then did nothing. For the past month or so, I hadn’t managed to take the extra two minutes to put the new sticker on our license plate. It was still waiting patiently by our front door.
When the officer came back after running our plates, I explained this to him. And I apologized for my mom brain that made me forget that some things that seem not that important (car registration stickers) are actually SUPER important. The officer, very kindly, just gave us a warning. He could tell we had our hands full.
Of course we immediately drove off and put the sticker on our license plate. Unfortunately, my flustered husband left his keys in the ignition, running down our car battery. So maybe dad brain is a thing, too?
Scientists have concluded that mom brain definitely exists, though it’s not 100% clear what that means. For example, women who are newly postpartum have more issues with executive functioning and rely more on the emotional side of their brain than the logical. But studies have also found that mothers of two or more children outperform non-mothers over the course of their careers. So far, clinical studies haven’t proven what we all anecdotally know is true — when you’re juggling the needs of multiple other (small, demanding) people, other tasks just slip by the wayside. Add some sleep deprivation on top of that, and it’s a wonder we get anything done at all.
Solidarity, sisters: Let’s all try to get enough sleep and enough quiet moments in the day to finish a thought. And don’t forget that some tasks really must be completed in a timely manner!
What’s the worst mom brain scenario you’ve found yourself in?
