Yesterday, something happened that left me feeling a little shaken—and honestly, a bit disappointed in myself. We were driving back from a family function, and I was behind the wheel while my baby cried nonstop for the 10-minute ride home. Even though other relatives in the car were trying to soothe her, all I could think about was getting home as quickly as possible to comfort her myself.

In the flurry of that emotional urgency, I forgot to do something very basic: lock the car.

Later, our neighbors informed us that someone had stolen something from the vehicle. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything valuable. But that wasn’t the point. What hit me hard was the realization that I’d missed a simple, automatic task—because my brain was already overloaded with just being a mother in that moment.

Motherhood rewires your brain. You stop prioritizing tasks in the order you used to. Your focus narrows to your children’s needs, its as if there is a constant hum that blocks other thoughts -especially when they’re distressed. Everything else can fall by the wayside: meals, conversations, and yes, even locking the car.

This isn’t an excuse—it’s a reality. And it’s something I’m learning to navigate.

That’s why I now rely on reminders and sticky notes, voice memos and checklists. Not because I’m careless, but because I care so deeply that sometimes, my mind forgets the rest. I’ve stopped expecting my brain to hold everything all at once. Instead, I give it support, structure, and grace.

Has this happened to you too? Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why, left the house without something important, or blanked on a to-do because your child needed you?
How do you address this?