A.A.A.D.D.- KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!

 Easily distracted, hard to remain focused, not concentrating well this week, and thought about this poem by David Eig. Maybe you can relate to it also.

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder: 

Age-Activated Attention-Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought it up from the mailbox earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
And notice that the can is full.

So, I decided to put the bills back
On the table and take out the garbage first...

But then I think,
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the garbage 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 inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push my Pepsi aside
So that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
And I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
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 spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decided to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back 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
Pepsi sitting on the counter,
The flowers don't have enough water,
There is still only 1 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, 😉
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
Forward this message to everyone you know,
Because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!
P.S. I don't remember who sent it to me, so if it was you, I'm sorry. 

                                                                ~  David Eig

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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a Tradition

I hope you've read Barbara Robinson's tiny book or seen the movie  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

The Denver Post wrote, "The book is outrageous, lively, funny and wonderful. The Christmas story takes on a strangely moving depth of meaning and shines through with a new brilliance."

As a retired Children's Choir Director, I could relate. Bathrobes, angel wings, arguments about who would be Mary are common in small church and Christian school's no budget Christmas programs. Fortunately, I never had to deal with six lying, stealing, cigar smoking Herdman kids.

Each year had it's challenges. Yet they had their blessings, too.

One year I named the most misbehaved child in our church to take the lead role. He had lots of lines to memorize and I had a special costume made for him. Everyone including his parents were upset. He was going to ruin everything!

This boy needed attention, approval and a challenge. He was very smart, and therefore, very bored. His behaviors resulted in negative attention and fostered more of the same. My challenge to him was coupled with the expectation that he wouldn't disappoint me. He played the part with no mistakes and no misbehaving. For a few minutes, he was in the limelight.

A few years later, my dream was being fulfilled: to have every age group involved in the musical. For a church of around 200, I managed nearly 100 playing a part in the pageant to a full sanctuary. But in the midst of organizing all this, 2 children begged to be included.

They came from a very poor home environment. So bad my Pastor would not allow me to visit them. Their grandmother brought them to Sunday School as often as she could convince their mother to let them go. They always arrived filthy, smelly, hitting, biting, screaming, fighting... and those were the good days. We worked with the grandmother. We bought a set of clothes for each boy. Grandma would pick them up on Saturday evening, give them a bath and feed them. After church, she removed the new clothes to wash for the next week. They returned home in the their dirty duds.

During this process, I was working with the youngest as his Sunday School teacher. The whole class burst into applause, the first time he shared a toy. We went to great lengths to award good behavior and over time it worked. He and his brother probably only received attention at home when they did something wrong.

But to have them standing for nearly an hour in front of the whole congregation? I sat with my choir and asked their assistance and understanding. Though reluctant at first, they agreed. We had a plan.

The plan isn't important. Neither is the fact that it was successful.

As I gave the downbeat to start, I saw someone slip into a pew at the last moment. It was their mother, who never had been inside a church nor had she seen her young sons dressed up and behaving well. She had the look of a bag lady-minus the bags, but had a radiant smile for her boys.

Children's musicals take lots of time and energy, but whether or not they remember their lines, they touch hearts no one else can reach.

Until I stopped driving, I attended a Christmas pageant every year. A tradition I miss, but it could be a new one for you!

Selah ~

Connie