AAADD: Author Unknown

I was recently diagnosed with AAADD: Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder and this is how it manifests.

I decided to wash my car, but as I started toward the garage I spotted the mail. I thought I’d better go through the mail first. I laid the car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the trash, and noticed that the can was full. So I put the bills on the table and got the trash to take out, but since I was going to pass by the mailbox I decided to pay the bills and mail them first.

I found my checkbook, but there was only one check left. I went to my desk in the study to get more checks, where I found a bottle of juice I’d been drinking. The juice was getting warm so I needed to put it in the fridge to keep it cold. On my way to the kitchen I saw a vase of flowers that needed to be watered. I set the juice down on the counter and saw my reading glasses that I’d been searching for.

Before taking them back to my desk I filled a container with water for the flowers, and I suddenly spotted the TV remote which I needed to take back to the family room. I accidently spilled some of the water on the floor so I walked to the hallway closet to get a towel to wipe it up. On the way, I tried to recall what I was planning to do next. I stood there trying to remember my next move and my mind went blank.

At the end of the day, the car wasn’t washed, the bills weren’t paid, there’s a warm bottle of juice on the counter, and the flowers weren’t watered. Plus, there is still only on check in the checkbook, I couldn’t find the remote or my glasses, and my car keys are missing.

I tried to figure out why nothing got done. It’s quite baffling because I was very busy all day and I got very tired. I know it’s a big problem and I need help. But first I’ll check my email, or maybe go watch some TV, or just take a nap.

MY MANY BOOKS

 

When I was starting out in my career, it was customary to have an extensive library. In addition to novels and histories, one needed dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, thesauruses, and other reference volumes in which one could find exactly what was needed for study or writing. It was an honor to have as many books as one could afford and use. When I was studying theology I needed an exhaustive concordance, several commentaries, a few Bible versions, devotionals, topical studies, and others.

One problem, however, was if you needed a fact about a certain topic you would look it up, write it down, and place the volume back on the shelf. Then it would stay there until you needed another piece of information from it, if ever. So some collected more dust than others, but you had to keep them just in case.

I once had a few hundred books, but I’ve given many away – to the library, to Goodwill, to thrift shops, to friends – and I’m down to around 100 now. There are more I can eliminate, but some are hard to part with. For example, I still have my “Handbook of Chemistry and Physics” – a 2,054 page tome that weighs five pounds. I’ll never need it again, but it brings back a lot of good memories. In fact, most of the books I still own have more sentimental value than any intrinsic or actual value.

Now, of course, everything I need is on my computer. I have more books available online than I could have ever owned. I don’t need to walk to a bookshelf, I simply search for what I want, and it’s on my screen before I blink. To me, this seems unfortunate for the younger generations. There’s something cold and impersonal about reading electronically. They’ll never experience the feel and fragrance of an old familiar title.

That’s what I mostly miss about my many books. Alas, my sentimentality has been revealed again.

Copyright 2024 by Carl E Gustafson

OLD FRIENDS

 

Old friends can mean two things: either they’ve been friends for a long time, or they’re simply old. Sometimes it’s both. I’m blessed with many old friends. Some I’ve worked with, some from church, from school, from golf, from neighborhoods, and from other places. But they’ve been a wonderful part of my life.

My hope is that I’m as much a blessing to them as they are to me. I try to be. I keep in touch with phone calls, texts, and emails. Thankfully with old friends you don’t have to text before calling. And they often contact me as well. It’s especially nice now, since I can’t travel as far due to health limitations.

I do miss having lunch with my old friends as often as I used to. In fact, in a previous post I listed the many restaurants at which I’ve dined with my lunch buddies. There have been many, many good meals. And I can’t golf as much as I’d like. Over the years I’ve golfed at well over 200 courses around the country. (And my game improved about zero.) But the fun is in the fellowship and being able to see their birdies and eagles once in a while.

There’s a song by the Gaither’s entitled “Old Friends.” A few of the phrases are: “What a find, what a priceless treasure.” “Like a rare piece of gold; my friends make it great to grow old.” “I’m a rich millionaire in old friends.” That describes friendship very, very well.

Besides friends here on earth, God can also be our friend. Recall the great old hymn: “What a friend we have in Jesus.” And the Bible speaks of God’s friendship in the following verses.

James 2:23 (NKJV) "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

Exodus 33:11 (NKJV) So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. 

John 15:15 (NKJV) Jesus said to the apostles: No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends.

The most magnificent thing about friendship is that it will continue into Heaven. We can spend eternity with our friends.

TODAY I AM "NORMAL" By Charles Richards, Licensed Counselor

 

Charlie and I met in Boy Scouts over 60 years ago. He’s been a friend, a brother in Christ, and a counselor to me as well. He’s always been perfectly normal in my opinion, but his writing reveals more.

This post has been a long time in coming. 

As long as I can remember, I have been overweight.  When I graduated from High School, I weighed 245 pounds; college 265.  Being the overachiever that I am, throughout my life, I gained another 100 pounds, reaching 365 pounds.

In the early 1990's I had weight loss surgery.  I got down to 214 pounds, but gained some weight back, stablelising at 245 pounds for a number of years.

Shortly before the pandemic, I was teaching a graduate counseling class in addictions.  One night, I was lecturing on Harm Reduction, which is where we teach those with an alcohol addiction to drink responsibly, i.e., you can have a beer at a party, but you don't need to get drunk.  As I was talking, I realized I have always rationalized my addiction to food...it goes like this:  "As a person addicted to food, I still have to participate in my addiction."  Driving home from that class, I decided to stop rationalizing and take control of my addiction.

Since that time, I have lost and maintained in the 170-180 RANGE.  Recently, I was looking up the ranges for classifying weight.  I was pleased that I have gone from MORBIDLY OBESE, to OBESE, to OVERWEIGHT.  I then saw that if I lost an additional 5 pounds (from the 170) I could be in the NORMAL range for my age, gender, height.

Today, I weigh 164 pounds.  I tell you that, not to gloat, not to say "look at me", but to say if I can do it, so can you!!

Addictions are hard, but through support and those in our tribe that cheer for our successes, we can do it!

I hope this is an encouragement to you.

See more at cdrtherapy.com. Or search for CDR COUNSELING.