Brain Damage

Sometimes the most obvious answers are the most easily overlooked. Lately I have been pulling my hair out trying to make life run smoothly here in Weaselville. The most simple tasks seem to have become the greatest of obstacles.

Case in point, just now I asked Boy Weasel to close the back door as he happened to be walking past it. "Back door????" was his response with an entirely blank and somewhat confused cloud glossing over his eyeballs. He had apparently never noticed that we have a back door right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen. This must have been a life changing moment of enlightenment for the boy. He has been in and out of that entrance way many, many times in his 12 years on this earth, and now he finally has a name for it. This kid is so bright The Mr. and I call him son.

Example 2: Eldest sprained her ankle at track practice a few weeks back. The team trainer is keeping a close eye on it and she can still run. It swells greatly after each practice and race. He has given her instructions to ice it 4x daily @15 minutes each, icy hot over night and anti - inflammatory meds daily. She has been complaining that it isn't getting any better.

Well, have you been icing it?

Nooooo.

Have you taken the anti - inflammatory?

Noooooo.

Did you put on the icy hot before bed last night?

Noooooo.

Hmmm, this is a mystery. Why do you think it's not getting any better?

I Dunno.

And case study C ~ Today is Monday, March 16. The school year started back in August. Monday through Friday, with a few exceptions, the kids have to wake up and prepare for school. Same routine every morning. Wake-up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, brush hair, gather belongings and get in the car. No major surprises. No major feats to accomplish. No real hard part to learn. Yet, here we are in March and they have not been able to master these skills.

Have you brushed your teeth?

No, I didn't eat yet

Why not? You've been in the kitchen for half an hour.

I dunno.

I have been banging my head against the wall. I don't get it. These are not hard concepts to grasp. Why can't they seem to understand? All of this has been frustrating the bejesus out of me. That is until the other night. I happened upon "Bill Cosby - Himself" on television. An oldie but a goodie that I have watched and laughed along with many times before, but not in years. An then with the kind of magic that Boy Weasel must have felt when he discovered the door in our kitchen, the light bulb clicked on at full wattage in my brain. I got it. I had actually known it all along, but had overlooked the obvious. My children have brain damage.

I just hope that they outgrow it soon.