I once left a book I was reading in the refrigerator. Really. Not kidding. The grapefruit juice was in the back of the fridge and I needed both hands to get to it. I swear I only meant to put the book down for a second. My mind was on the story, not the juice. I got my drink, put the carton back in the fridge, went back to my reading chair . . . and the book wasn’t there!

The first time I did it, I didn’t figure out where the book was until dinner time (and damn it, I wanted to get back to that story!). The second time (and, oh yes, there was a second time), I knew where to look.

So I’m a little absentminded at times. Or, as I prefer to think of it, really focused. Once I’ve got something in my head, something that really excites me, it pushes everything else out (kind of like the spellbook that pushes out all the other spells from Wizzard Rincewind’s head, for those of you who are Terry Pratchett fans).

A few weeks ago, that tendency to focus everything else out of my head got a little embarrassing. It started with working from home. For the past six months, I’ve been in the very fortunate position of being able to work from my home office. That’s saved me two hours of commuting time a day–and given me a lot more time for my writing. Whoo-hoo!

It was evening time. I was just finishing giving my daughter a bath when there was a knock at the front door. I waited for my husband to get it. He didn’t. My daughter asked if it was my book club (I had just told her they would be coming to our house the next day). I said no, that would be tomorrow night. A second knock came. Irritated (hey, I’m giving the kid a bath! get the freakin’ front door, hubby!), I dashed down the stairs, leaving my daughter wrapped in a towel at the top.

I opened the door. It was the ladies from my book club! As I stared at them, all I could say was, “But it’s Wednesday!”

Obviously, I was wrong about that. It was Thursday night. Book club night. And it was my turn to hostess–you know, desserts, coffee, snacks.

Most of them had carpooled, to avoid awkward parking on snow-covered streets, so eight women stood on my doorstep. Two more were due any minute.

I was completely, absolutely floored. It took me until two-and-a-half hours later, when everyone had left, to finally figure out how I’d gotten the days of the week mixed up. Monday had been a federal holiday and my family had been home. That meant my work week started on Tuesday…but I spent the day thinking it was Monday. I continued a day behind all week. I was so focused on my work and my writing that I literally blocked everything else out…including the calendar.
The good news is that I had the supplies all prepared (in addition to being absentmind . . . er, focused, I’m also a type-A personality. I’m usually WAY overprepared for such events!). Sweets aren’t my forte in the kitchen, so I’d gone with frozen desserts instead of trying something from scratch (thank goodness!). I also had several cheeses and crackers already bought and waiting. Everyone settled into the living room to laugh at my mistake and chat, while my daughter kept them entertained (every single person in my book club, other than me, is a grandmother, and they pretty much all adore kids). Two of the women helped in the kitchen with unwrapping the cheeses and frozen desserts. One dessert was supposed to thaw for an hour (oh well!). The other was actually a bite-size chocolate/ice cream treat and thus appropriately frozen. I made coffee and set out cups and plates. Hubby brought all the chairs to the office and set that up (he was now my prince).

And thank goodness I had actually done the dishes already that night (I can’t tell you how rarely THAT happens). Plus I’d taken out all of the recycling that afternoon (a huge, huge pile in the dining room and kitchen), so everything except the living room (aka my daughter’s play room) was actually fairly clean and tidy. Hey, with ten grandmas present, I would have been truly ashamed if there had still been newspapers, empty milk cartons, and dirty dishes everywhere.
Ok, enough of my adventures in being absentmind. . . er, focused on my work and writing.

We all have days when getting into the writing is a painful, root canal kind of experience. But what about the good days? Have you ever been so focused on your writing that you’ve forgotten to do something? Burned dinner? Had to leave the shower to jot that idea down NOW? Or is the toothpulling stage (yeah, I have a fear of dentists) so big right now that you can’t remember what it’s like to be in the “focused” zone?