Signs

I had a doctor's appointment this morning to check out one of my eyes--I've been feeling like there's sand or something in it for the past week or so. Oddly enough, it feels much better with my contacts in than when I have my glasses on. After filling out half a dozen pages of paperwork I was led to an examining room and had my vitals taken (still 5'4", 144 lbs, temperature and blood pressure normal). Then I got to wait for the doctor. I was perched on the exam table, fully dressed for once--most of my doctor visits the last couple of years involve paper vests and stirrups--and looked around the room for something to read.

There are never clocks in exam rooms, probably on purpose, but there are generally an interesting assortment of posters. I'm partial to the anatomy ones that list all the body parts in multiple languages, myself--I can while away a good half an hour trying to memorize the Spanish words for "tendon" and "aorta". Alas, there was no Spanish anatomy to study today. Instead, there was a nice, yellow sign reminding diabetes patients to remove their shoes and socks for each visit, and a poster about Adult ADD.

I wasn't worried about diabetes (and besides, I was wearing sandals so my feet were readily accessible should it become an issue), so I studied the ADD poster. It contained a series of questions and a chart that would show you whether you should be worried about it.

The first question asked whether you have trouble doing the cleanup-work at the end of a task. Hmmm...yep. I hate hate hate all the fiddly stuff you have to do to finish things off (like software documentation...*snooze*). It went on to ask if you have trouble organizing tasks--well, sometimes. If I'm familiar with a process and know the pattern I'm fine, otherwise I really have to concentrate to make sure I get everything going the right way and anticipate the right things. Do you have trouble remembering appointments? Well, only if they're appointments that I'm not interested in...like how I can forget for weeks (months) on end to call about getting the hail damange on my car fixed. Do you delay in starting a new challenge? Well, sometimes. Unless it's something I'm really excited about, but I still try to have sufficient "prep" time (we won't talk about how much prep time I take sometimes...).

Do you feel like you have to keep moving or doing, like you're driven by a motor? Yeah, I know this feeling. Some days I just can't sit still and relax for very long--I feel like I should be doing something. Usually I attribute it to stress over my huge to-do lists (there is no such thing as being caught up on laundry unless you're stark naked and you just hung up a clean towel in the bathroom and haven't washed your hands...).

Do you fidget or move your hand or feet when you're sitting still for a long time? I read this one while swinging my feet back and forth. I'm incapable of talking on the phone without playing with somethign in my hands. I have to consciously remind myself not to tap a foot or wiggle too much in meetings. Uh oh.

After my appointment (I have no "foreign bodies" or "corneal abrasions", but do have a couple of samples of allergy drops and instructions to not wear contacts for a couple of days), I told my husband about the sign and that I might be borderline ADD. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Borderline?". Hmph.