Those people

 

Stress leads to mistakes.

There is nothing like being afraid to make a mistake that is more likely to cause mistakes.

You can give it names like Attention Deficit, or something else, but is is the fear that really amps up the occurrences.

My ex could forget his coat on a cold day and I never understood that, but now I realize that as a child who would probably be labeled ADD, he had years of expecting to make a mistake. My youngest son was the same, but I never considered myself to be one of those people.

Until now.

People who have this tendency tend to develop ways to avoid it. They become meticulous list makers and people who triple check their work. I guess I was great at coping most of my life. I was always terrified of making mistakes. (For lots of reasons frankly.)

But now that I have been divorced for over 25 years and my children are grown up, I no longer feel quite as much pressure to try to be perfect. I have relaxed a little. Not much, but a little.

So I make more mistakes and I am realizing I do the same things my ex and my son have always done. I was always understanding when it came to my child. Now I wish I had been a bit more understanding of my ex.