I suck ... there, I said it

I've been reading 2 Corinthians lately and am struck by how many times Paul boasts about his weaknesses. He talks about his inarticulate speaking skills, his thorn in the flesh and his moments of loneliness - and does so with gusto. It's not because he's trying to outdo Debby Downer and revel in misery; he does so because he has learned that when we are weak, then we are strong.

And none of us is 100% strong 100% of the time. There's something freeing in allowing ourselves to be imperfect with weaknesses and shortcomings.

So in that vein, here is my confession: I suck at multi-tasking. Seriously.

In college I waitressed at Pizza Hut for a semester and I quickly learned that I was fine as long as I have 2 tables or fewer. But toss me a third table and I immediately forgot basic skills, like greeting customers or bringing them drinks. It's as though a glance at the waiting, hungry horde was enough to overwhelm me and cause me to breakdown.

And now I have 4 hungry hordes (careful how you say that). And I still seize up when all 4 are hungry or fussy at the same time. I catch myself forgetting basic steps and will be in the middle of an activity before I remember, "Oh wait, I should have done ____ before I started this." For instance, 2 nights ago I started bathing the babies. Mid-wash I remembered that I should have put their bottles in the warmer so the babies could eat as soon as they were clean. But then I remembered I hadn't made a batch of formula. So while naked babies laid on the bathroom floor, I scrambled to assemble bottles that could be warmed that could be consumed after the washing.

Whew.

So if you see me wandering the streets of Jacksonville with empty bottles, please steer me back home and whisper in my ear what it is that I'm supposed to do next.