Forgetfulness

This morning I needed to adjust the shower temperature after I got in. But I couldn't remember which faucet handle was hot and which was cold.

Fortunately that problem was easily solved with a little experimentation. But this is a shower I have used daily for years. I'm concerned!

Does anyone else go through this? Where you just for the life of you have no recollection of where you put your watch before bed, where you parked the car, or whether you already brushed your teeth?

I used to pride myself on my memory. I always got 99th percentile on standardized tests in school. I was accepted to medical school when I was 19 (though I chose not to go).

And I've always excelled at work, too. Though in more recent years it has been because I have established routines and use principles that guide me in backtracking and figuring out what I would have done in a scenario, rather than remembering what I did.

But things have been getting worse and worse, especially with pregnancy and mommyhood. I blame it on momnesia. It makes life really difficult.

The scariest thing is how it impacts others. The other day as our family was heading into town, I couldn't find my wallet anywhere. I thought I had put it in my jacket pocket, but I checked the pockets and found nothing.

My husband was in a rush, so he assured me it probably was in the diaper bag (already in the car) and herded me out the door.

As soon as we were on the road, I checked the diaper bag. No wallet. I alerted my husband.

Since our evening plans were somewhat moot without a wallet, my husband turned the car around and headed back home. Since by this time we would be too late for what he had planned, he decided we should just stay home.

Looking for my wallet again, I found it, in my jacket pocket. It had been with me all along.

When my husband asked me where I had found it and realized it had been in the car, he was quite upset with me. I was already beating myself up for it - his reaction made me want to withdraw into myself and from life even further.

It's not the first time this has happened. I do stuff like this all the time. I keep telling myself not to let it happen again, but it's like I have no control.

Is it just me - should I try to get help for it? And if it's not just me, what can I do to patch things up with my husband (and anyone else I might inconvenience)?

Help!