Wednesday, October 8, 2008

LOSS OF FOCUS 2 of 2

Wait where was I? Doesn't have to be shiny to get me off track. Just could easily be morning

Roll mental camera...

Just a few minutes after Connor got side tracked on the "dials" the eyes started to get foggy yet again. Connor is a pretty sharp kid but by 9pm his brain pretty much shuts down. He was tasked with reading a short story and picking out the series of three words that meant the same as "always". Those three words were "all the time".

Connor got "all" right off the bat, but it went downhill quickly from there. He kept searching and searching for the other words. I knew he was getting frustrated when he started pulling out his hair, so I chimed in with, "remember the words are in a series."

The blank stare was upon us.

So I asked him what the word "series" meant to which he replied, "you know, in a row, like 1234." "so then if "all" is correct, then what are the other 2 words?" I said.

I actually heard the wind whistle through his ears.

"if the 3 words are in a series and "all" is correct, then the other 2 words must be?" I hinted further.

Nada, squat, no mas, zilch, dial tone, he had nothing left. Brain had checked out for the night. I finally broke down and showed him what he was missing. Connor's brain shuts down at night but I am the other way around. I can stay sharp until the wee hours of the morning, but get me up early and I am a drooling wookie that can only manage a loud grunt as an answer to a question.

It may not be the time of day or that shiny thing that distracts you from what is important in life. It may just be life that is the distraction. My focus comes and goes way to easy, I need some ritalin for the soul.

Do you have a bit of that ADHD when it comes to focusing on what is important?

Is your life the distraction?

What time of day does your brain not want to function?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

LOSS OF FOCUS 1 of 2

That blank stare that tells anyone who looks that the lights are not on, the wheels aren't turning and the hamster has turned in for the night. Yep been there.

Roll mental camera...

Connor, my nine year old, was doing his homework the other night after we got back from Nebraska. It was late but he really wanted to get it done.

Soon he asked me to come over to help him. He needed to fill in the missing word in the following sentence, "The repair man turned the (blank) to adjust the TV's picture." Now for my generation or older that question would be pretty easy, but for a nine year old this was dang hard. He has never seen a TV with a dial on it.

Even after I hinted around and he finally guessed the word he couldn't refocus on his work. He had lost his homework mojo. He was off on a tangent asking questions about old stuff and how it worked back then. That one word took him off track.

Do you find that to be true in your life?

Headed one way and then "oh look something shiny," and off you go?

Yep me too.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Miss Me?

I know I haven't posted much the past few weeks. I could blame it on a bunch of different things but I really just didn't feel like writing. I didn't want blogging to become a burden I didn't enjoy so I took another break after last Monday. Can't promise I won't take another. But as long as I enjoy it and have something to write about, I will write.