Sunday, March 24, 2019

Those "squirrel" moments

Don is notoriously absent-minded. He's been that way as long as I've known him. Throughout our married life, his most frequent question is "Where's my...?" and on a good day I can supply the answer.

Today he came into the house and started rummaging in a particular basket for some thin drill bits he needed. "I know it's in here," he muttered. "Aha! Success!" He held up a small plastic bag.

He went on to explain, "I can never find this particular-size drill bit when I need it, so a few months ago I bought about a zillion of them and kept them in this bag in this basket. This is one of the few things I know exactly where it is, so DON'T MOVE IT."

I promised.

"I've also figured out why I'm absent-minded," he added. "It's because I always have 'squirrel' moments."

He's referring to the dog character from the movie "Up" in which the talking dog is distracted by the sight of a squirrel and will interrupt whatever he's saying to focus on the rodent, as in this film clip:



"What I'll do," Don explained, "is go into the shop, find my bag of drill bits, but before I can put one to use, I spot something shiny like a piece of metal and think to myself, 'If I just bend that metal in a certain way, I can make a small nuclear reactor.'"

So, eager to test his theory, he puts the bag of spare drill bits aside on a random spot of shelf and focuses on the shiny piece of metal. Then he gets to work using the drill bit, and the bag of spare bits remains on the random spot of shelf. Two weeks later when he needs the drill bit again, he can't find either the one he used or his bag of spares.

So there you go. It's not "senior moments" since he's done this long before we were married; it's just a "squirrel" moment.

At least, that's his story and he's sticking to it.

8 comments:

  1. I have always maintained that if my head wasn't welded on I would either mislay it or forget it somewhere... But, tools I know exactly where stuff is and where they lay, and nobody but nobody borrows or ask to use them, for my stock answer is always a resounding NO.

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  2. Waaayyy too many squirrel moments in my life.

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  3. Been this way all my life, and I'm old now so I've had years of practice. I generally remember exactly where I used or placed things, however, on occasion I misplace things I'm using. I always tell people to NEVER pick up after me. Once I realize I can't find something I do a backtrack, and sooner or later, somewhere along the backtrack, I always find it, yup, right where I left it.

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  4. Just wait a few years. It ain't gonna get any better.--ken

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  5. This is a great excuse! I'm going to start using it immediately. I was cleaning and dusting yesterday and had to search for my dust cloth 4 times, while I was using it! Life sure gets to be fun as one ages.

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  6. I love it when you write about small moments in your marriage. Y'all seem like you are very content and that you appreciate each other greatly. I used to think that was the norm (because my parents are like that too) but as an adult I realized it's much more rare than I knew. Sweet story!

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  7. I think we are talking genetics here. AKA Lewisisms...

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  8. Yes, I understand this, I have always been absent-minded. I've learned to set up systems so as to not forget. I have set places where I put things i.e. keys, purse, jacket that way it's always in the same place when I look for it at home. Another one is to put keys in my jacket when I take it somewhere so I don't forget my jacket when I leave.

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