I have tried and tried to excuse away the selfishness of humanity for the vast majority of my adult life. Unfortunately, at this point I cannot escape the one question that has been burning in the back of my mind for all of that time: Why do some folks seem so incapable of getting out of their own skulls long enough to realize that they actually live on a planet with other people? Since I don't want to bore anyone to death -- although I know many, many people who wouldn't mind boring me to death with the totality of what is one their mind (usually themselves!) at any given time -- I will stick with this week for my examples.
Monday: My darling boy, Bo, has lost the cellphone that he harangued me to get him for a year, and which I told him that he would have to wait until he's a teenager, and then bought for him for his 13th birthday a mere 6 months ago! I immediately go into Sherlock Holmes mode, trying to take Bo, kicking and screaming, step-by-step through the days between the last time he knows he had the phone and when he finally admitted to losing it. He doesn't want to go through this exercise and I am met with the patented teenaged eye rolls/sloutchy pouts/repeated heavy sighs routine. (At one point, I asked Bo if he was in need of an inhaler since he seemed to be having trouble breathing normally...which garnered another heavy sigh. I couldn't resist!) Finally, we get around to calling friends with whom he had spent time between last having his phone and Admission Monday. Are the friends helpful? Not immediately, but they "will look around" and let him know. Uh, cool, can you do that right now? Apparently, not.
Tuesday: I have been in intestinal distress every time I eat for three days. By Day 3 of the Great Potty Race, I'm living on water and icecubes because I a) can't tolerate anything else, b) am afraid of dehydrating, especially since I've also been sweating like a racehorse. (Vogue material, I am not!), and c) have resorted to buying and using A&D ointment, despite my ban on the stuff in my home once Koko was out of diapers. Is my loving husband concerned for my well-being? Well, you tell me. Before going upstairs to bed at 8:45, because he's exhausted!, he asks me to sleep on the couch because it's impossible for him to get any sleep when I am constantly getting out of bed all night. After my head exploded, I fell sideways onto the couch for the remainder of the night. I assume his sleep went undisturbed.
Wednesday: My father has been experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. He's not very old, in his late 60's, but there is a hideous family history of heart disease on the paternal side of my family. My poor dad has been dealing with this for months, had a cardiac catherization and stent placement a few months back with initial relief, but recently started having problems again and worse than ever. So, he had a nuclear stress test, which came back as okay, and the doctor ordered more tests. The "big day" was scheduled for Wednesday (yesterday). So, it's 8:15 PM and I'm not feeling well, exhausted from getting little, to no, sleep on the couch the night before, annoyed at my husband, and overwhelmed by the information I had just received at Back to School Night for multiple children. I place a call to cry on my mom's shoulder and my dad answers. Do I ask my dad how he is feeling or how the appointment went? No, I just ask for my mom in order to get my complaint-fest rolling.
So...am I immune to Inward Focus Syndrome? Apparently not.
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