u/dalbit_hyorin

"Can I ask you something seriously?"

"Sure."

"Do you ever feel like your brain keeps opening new tabs without closing the old ones?"

My coworker looked up from her work.

"Why?"

"This morning I opened the fridge and completely forgot why I opened it."

"Okay..."

"And yesterday I carried some paperwork across the house, then stopped and thought, 'Wait. Why am I holding this?'"

"That happens."

"No, listen."

I leaned closer.

"You know how you asked me to order medication this morning?"

"...Yes."

"I sat down to do it."

"..."

"And somehow ended up arguing in a pharmacist forum comment section."

"..."

"For almost thirty minutes."

"..."

"The medication order?"

"..."

"Never happened."

She slowly put down her pen.

"That doesn't sound great."

"Right? At this point it's looking pretty suspicious."

She thought for a moment.

"Maybe."

I sighed.

Then she pointed at my hands.

"What are you doing?"

"What?"

"With the pen."

I looked down.

Without realizing it, I had completely disassembled a ballpoint pen.

The spring chose that exact moment to launch itself across the desk.

ting

"..."

"..."

We both watched it disappear under a cabinet.

Then she looked at the pile of tiny paper scraps scattered around me.

"What's that?"

"What?"

"The paper."

I followed her gaze.

The medication order list.

Apparently while taking apart the pen, I had also shredded the note into dozens of tiny pieces.

"..."

"..."

"Well."

She nodded.

"Not saying it's ADHD, but..."

"..."

"You just destroyed the only copy of the thing you forgot to do."

Fair point.

I got down on my knees to look for the spring.

...

Wait.

...

Actually.

Tomorrow's my posting day.

Maybe the ending still needs work.

...

Hold on.

...

What was I looking for under here again?

"Can I ask you something seriously?"

"Sure."

"Do you ever feel like your brain keeps opening new tabs without closing the old ones?"

My coworker looked up from her work.

"Why?"

"This morning I opened the fridge and completely forgot why I opened it."

"Okay..."

"And yesterday I carried some paperwork across the house, then stopped and thought, 'Wait. Why am I holding this?'"

"That happens."

"No, listen."

I leaned closer.

"You know how you asked me to order medication this morning?"

"...Yes."

"I sat down to do it."

"..."

"And somehow ended up arguing in a pharmacist forum comment section."

"..."

"For almost thirty minutes."

"..."

"The medication order?"

"..."

"Never happened."

She slowly put down her pen.

"That doesn't sound great."

"Right? At this point it's looking pretty suspicious."

She thought for a moment.

"Maybe."

I sighed.

Then she pointed at my hands.

"What are you doing?"

"What?"

"With the pen."

I looked down.

Without realizing it, I had completely disassembled a ballpoint pen.

The spring chose that exact moment to launch itself across the desk.

ting

"..."

"..."

We both watched it disappear under a cabinet.

Then she looked at the pile of tiny paper scraps scattered around me.

"What's that?"

"What?"

"The paper."

I followed her gaze.

The medication order list.

Apparently while taking apart the pen, I had also shredded the note into dozens of tiny pieces.

"..."

"..."

"Well."

She nodded.

"Not saying it's ADHD, but..."

"..."

"You just destroyed the only copy of the thing you forgot to do."

Fair point.

I got down on my knees to look for the spring.

...

Wait.

...

Actually.

Tomorrow's my posting day.

Maybe the ending still needs work.

...

Hold on.

...

What was I looking for under here again?

"Can I ask you something seriously?"

"Sure."

"Do you ever feel like your brain keeps opening new tabs without closing the old ones?"

My coworker looked up from her work.

"Why?"

"This morning I opened the fridge and completely forgot why I opened it."

"Okay..."

"And yesterday I carried some paperwork across the house, then stopped and thought, 'Wait. Why am I holding this?'"

"That happens."

"No, listen."

I leaned closer.

"You know how you asked me to order medication this morning?"

"...Yes."

"I sat down to do it."

"..."

"And somehow ended up arguing in a pharmacist forum comment section."

"..."

"For almost thirty minutes."

"..."

"The medication order?"

"..."

"Never happened."

She slowly put down her pen.

"That doesn't sound great."

"Right? At this point it's looking pretty suspicious."

She thought for a moment.

"Maybe."

I sighed.

Then she pointed at my hands.

"What are you doing?"

"What?"

"With the pen."

I looked down.

Without realizing it, I had completely disassembled a ballpoint pen.

The spring chose that exact moment to launch itself across the desk.

ting

"..."

"..."

We both watched it disappear under a cabinet.

Then she looked at the pile of tiny paper scraps scattered around me.

"What's that?"

"What?"

"The paper."

I followed her gaze.

The medication order list.

Apparently while taking apart the pen, I had also shredded the note into dozens of tiny pieces.

"..."

"..."

"Well."

She nodded.

"Not saying it's ADHD, but..."

"..."

"You just destroyed the only copy of the thing you forgot to do."

Fair point.

I got down on my knees to look for the spring.

...

Wait.

...

Actually.

Tomorrow's my posting day.

Maybe the ending still needs work.

...

Hold on.

...

What was I looking for under here again?

Thirty minutes before closing.

My assistant reminded me.

"You still need to review the prescriptions for tomorrow's insurance claim."

"Right."

I opened the computer.

Pulled up all the documents.

Ready to work.

Then I noticed a plant near the window.

It looked a little crowded in its pot.

And suddenly a very important thought appeared:

"What if its roots are uncomfortable?"

Ten minutes later I was standing there with

a new flowerpot

potting soil

a gardening shovel

a waterproof mat

Somehow everything had been prepared.

I don't even remember making the decision.

My assistant looked at me.

"Didn't you have paperwork to finish?"

"The patient in front of me looked urgent."

"..."

"The patient is a plant."

"..."

I nodded.

Fair point.

A few minutes later she adjusted her glasses and said:

"Understood."

"The insurance claim has been postponed."

"The paperwork has been postponed."

"Going home on time has also been postponed."

"..."

"Highest priority task has been updated."

"..."

"'Plant looks kind of sad.'"

I ended up leaving work almost an hour late.

Again.

​

I picked up my phone to call one of our suppliers.

Earlier that morning they had texted because the quantity on an order didn't match.

"Didn't you say you were going to call them?" my coworker Autumn asked.

"Yeah... that's what I'm doing."

I unlocked my phone.

Opened my messages.

Then one name caught my eye.

"Huh."

"What?"

"I haven't talked to this person in almost two months."

Autumn glanced over.

"So... call the supplier first."

"I know."

"..."

"But I wonder how they're doing."

She laughed.

"You got distracted again."

"Maybe."

I kept scrolling.

Then another familiar name.

My thumb stopped.

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't messaged this person in two months."

"So?"

"What if it's weird?"

"It might be."

"What if I'm bothering them?"

"Also possible."

"So... maybe I should just leave it."

Autumn nodded.

"Honestly?"

"Probably."

I stared at my phone for a while.

Then she looked at me again.

"You know..."

"What?"

"If you're not expecting a reply..."

"..."

"And you're really just saying hello..."

"..."

"I think it's okay."

I smiled.

"Just one message?"

She smiled back.

"Just one."

So I typed.

<Hi.

You crossed my mind today, so I just wanted to say hello.

No pressure to reply.

Hope you're doing well.>

I pressed Send.

A few seconds later...

My phone buzzed.

«I was actually thinking about texting you today!»

I couldn't help smiling.

Autumn looked at my phone.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"I think I learned something today."

"Oh?"

She thought for a moment.

"Sometimes..."

"..."

..."No pressure to reply."

"..."

"...is exactly the kind of message that makes people want to reply."

We both laughed.

A few seconds later she asked,

"So..."

"..."

"Did you ever call the supplier?"

...

I looked down at my phone.

"Oh."

We laughed even harder.

I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD. These are simply small observations from my everyday life.

Sometimes I don't even realize why I'm late getting home.

One day, my coworker smiled and said,

"Do you know why we're leaving late again?"

I laughed.

"I honestly don't."

She started counting on her fingers.

"First, you walked an elderly man who had gotten lost back to where he needed to go."

"Then you helped a child outside the convenience store find their parent."

"Then you stopped to leave water for a stray cat."

She looked at me and smiled.

"None of those things were on today's schedule."

I nodded.

"I know."

She laughed.

"I think your problem is that you just can't walk past someone who needs help."

We both laughed.

I'm still late getting home most days.

But I think I'm okay with that.