Some ADHD “experts” are quite good at giving advice and offering solutions to ADD-ish issues. Many of them, however, are loath to reveal their own challenges. Not me. I’m right out there with my mishaps, no matter how embarrassing.

To wit:

I just took the door off the ADDiva-mobile this morning. By running into my other, older car.

Oh no.

You know that sickening sound of metal crushing metal? That’s what I experienced as I backed out of the garage on the way (late of course) to an all day women’s Soul Circles event with one of my favorite gurus, Anita. It was a lovely sunny day, a crisp wind out of the north. And I needed this renewal time. I was overdue.

In fact, I was thinking just that when I put the Prius in reverse and backed up slowly. I heard a little thump and realized – uh oh – I had nudged my black Lexus SUV. Panicked, and hoping that there was no damage, I opened the driver’s side door to take a peek, then started to pull forward.

Unfortunately, the car was still in reverse. The Prius hit the Lexus even harder. Panicked even more, I desperately hit the brake, harder and harder.

Unfortunately, it was the accelerator pedal under my foot. I was actually accelerating backwards, accelerating the damage to both cars. “No, no no NO!” I was screaming at myself, at the world, at the cars.

When I finally took my foot off the pedal/accelerator/supposed-to-be-brake the door to the Prius was bent completely backwards and rested on the front fender. I almost cried, but I was in shock.

Obviously, I couldn’t get out the driver’s side door — there was a black car blocking the opening. So I climbed over the passenger seat and ran in to tell Victor. A few tears gathered, but I couldn’t make them fall.

“I’m not going to the women’s day after all,” I said, slamming the kitchen door. “I just wrecked the Prius AND the Lexus.”

Victor couldn’t have been more gentle. He didn’t get mad. He didn’t tell me how dumb it was to hit my own car WITH my own car. He just said: “You didn’t do it on purpose, sweetie.”

The long and short of the rest of the story is that I called a friend who managed to get the door on the Prius partly closed and we drove it to a body shop for the rest of the weekend. Monday will be fine to get an estimate.

The Lexus is drivable, thank goodness. But it has an ugly smear of scratches and dents on the passenger side. I hate driving it around – proof of my distracted brain.

I am SO mad at myself. It will cost precious money that I need to devote to GardenSpirit (we are getting closer to approvals from the bureacracies). It will probably increase my insurance premiums (but there is too much damage to avoid turning it in to Farm Bureau).  And I missed my day of renewal and respite that I desperately needed.

There is always a bright spot to every tragedy (if this can be considered a tragedy). Over the years, Victor has opened the door of his little RX8 into the side of my black Lexus, leaving a line of little chips in the paint. Now the whole side needs to be repaired, which will also take care of those little dings! Yay!

But it sure would have been cheaper to touch them up…and a lot better if I’d remembered to renew my Adderall prescription sooner so I might have had some on board before I got in that car today.

And that, is the end of the story….for now