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I played, now I must pay. After a lazy weekend our house is trashed. There are dishes on the table, mail on the counter, blankets on the sofa, shoes by the door. But books have been read, movies enjoyed, letters written and fun projects completed.

The only thing better than spending Spring Break in Florida is coming home. Our sunburns were peeling, our bags were packed and our grandparents were kissed goodbye as we headed into Tampa International Airport for a nonstop flight on our favorite airline. Within minutes of being dropped off curbside, we had checked our bags and cleared security.

Dragons. Leprechauns. Fairies. Zeus. Multitasking.

What does multitasking have to do with these other myths? According to psychiatrist Richard Hallowell, multitasking is “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously.” We actually lose 10 IQ points when we attempt to do two things at once, more than double the drop that occurs when someone smokes marijuana. This is the equivalent of missing one night’s sleep.

She hitched her baby on her back and began the long walk toward safety. She walked the equivalent of 18 miles one way to take one child to safety, then she walked all the way home to get the others. She would make this trip five times, and she would do it all over again in a few days to take them more food.

If you’re like the average parent, you spend 38.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with your children (A.C. Nielsen Co.). If you’re a woman, three out of four of you with children between the ages of 6 and 17 work outside the home, and a third of all parents are raising kids by yourself – kids who take part in more after-school activities than ever (Gallup).

So, I, like, mailed a check to a vendor? But he, like, didn’t get it? And other checks, y’know, that were mailed after this, he did get? So I had to, like, stop payment on the one check and pay a fee? Then I had to, like, print a new check? Do you think I should, y’know, mail it?

I have used it to get rid of a cat, find a friend and figure out what to make for dinner. I have gone on lunch dates, rented movies, visited certain restaurants and avoided others as a direct result. It’s one of the first things I do each morning and, truth be told, I probably do it at least 20 more times a day.

“One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies… Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him.” So bemoans Della Dillingham Young, young heroine of O. Henry’s ironic tale The Gift of the Magi.

Do you know the story? Della sells her long, luxurious hair to buy a watch chain for “Her Jim,” who has sold his watch to buy combs for her hair.