The Down side of Multitasking

Given the "scurry" of the last few days before Christmas, I wanted to share a personal experience that is reflective of "multitasking gone bad".....I had dropped my daughter off to her first day of kindergarten, and headed down to Denver. My mind was going a million miles an hour, I was chatting with a friend on my cell phone, I had my daughter on my mind, as well as dreading a retreat that I was headed to. As I pulled into the parking ramp, I thought to myself, I will never find this car, I better pay attention. So I wrote down in my blackberry B2 and off I headed to the retreat, in an hotel I had never been to before. The retreat was emotionally draining, I was so ready to escape and head to the airport to pick up my sister, when I realized I "lost my car" so for the next 4 hours I strolled the ramps in downtown Denver, "How could I lose a SUV"....I most have looked a bit distressed, since no one would help me, the parking attendants just shook their heads when I circled them for hours. My son finally picked up my sister and then they circled down to downtown to pick up their carless mom. They knew I was in no mood to be teased about "losing my car" so they reassured me that they were sure I would find it in the morning. Well days passed, I drove my husbands truck through the parking ramps daily, to no avail. Finally I made the dreaded police report, the police officer reassured me "this happens all the time, we'll find your car." Well they drove through all of the ramps, no luck. I filed with the car insurance. For six months I would drive by the hotel where the retreat has held, just knowing that my car was somewhere. Everyone told me to "give it up" your car has been stolen, if the police can't find it, it is gone! Yet still I knew it was there, somewhere. Well six months later the police call me "we found your car" it was in lot.....the exact place I had left. People were speechless, I wasn't. I knew I had allowed myself to get so saturated with "the busi-ness"of the day, my mind was on overload, and I lost my car! It could have been worse, I have learned, one person allowed herself to get in a tragic car accident, and she lost her daughter. Do you ever wander what we are doing to ourselves? My lesson, and I'm sure the woman who I read about but never knew are dealing with the same disease "multi-tasking"......STOP THE CRAZINESS. This week please take 10 minutes, turn off all the noise in your life and sit in silence, it will be the best gift you can give yourself this Christmas week!