Armed with my oven, instant pot, microwave
Three dishes cooking at once- thinking of the time I can save
I pat myself on my back, now it is time
To listen to a podcast as I chop vegetables fine
Trying to learn something new while I cook several meals
This is multitasking at its finest, what’s the big deal?
Vegetables chopped, oil heated, left to cook on slow flame
Different timers beep, and the noise I blame
For distracting me from my podcast as I remove
Food from respective containers, I need to move
Fast to prevent the stuff on stovetop from burning
All this while about mindfulness I am learning
Children come running in from playing outside
Ravenous as ever, I take a detour to provide
Crepes freshly prepared on the griddle
While children talk loudly and with gadgets fiddle
Still juggling food preparation, clean-up and such
I manage to scarf down my meal, not enjoying it much
Despite it being a favorite dish of mine
To sit and savor food- that’s left for another time
Rewind the podcast because I missed most of it
As I load the dishwasher, wondering when I can sit..
Children need help with homework, I divert my attention
To helping them, it takes some time to achieve comprehension
Of the help that is needed, by now forgotten lies
My podcast, there is no time to listen to advice
Regarding mindfulness, when my mind is occupied
In multiple directions, I just go mindlessly along for the ride
As I wind down in the kitchen I hear the cell phone ring
Oh I am on call for my patients; so dropping everything
I make a beeline to answer the phone with hands dough-smeared
I am lucky, the reason for call is simpler than I feared…
*
The day ends in a blur, I am still relieved
At having accomplished multiple tasks, I believe
That multitasking is a skill that I am improving upon
Yet I wonder where the minutes and hours have gone
Remember my original goal was to learn more
About mindfulness- that was the last thing I could explore
Today- the day was spent as mindlessly as could be
Under the guise of multitasking efficiently
As I drift off to sleep, these words from the podcast I hear-
Multitasking is a myth- the message resonates loud and clear
Passion...unbridled 