Dad Disease

Has this ever happened to you?

You are in the grocery store, looking for baking powder, yet all you see is baking soda. You look up and down each aisle twice before your 5-year-old son finally finds it for you.

Has this ever happened to you?

You are making a sandwich for lunch. You find the ham and the cheese, but you can't find the smoked turkey. You tear through the refrigerator, ripping through packages of shredded cheese, Parmesan and pepperoni, all in a futile search. Finally, you give up, curse your fate and blame an in-law to be named later. Then you realize the smoked turkey was in your hands the whole time, right under the bag of ham. You try to play it off, but your wife rolls her eyes, shakes her head and, if lucky, offers an insightful comment, such as "You're as bad as the kids" or "Really! Did you even look first?"

I admit it: These stories, or something close to them, have happened to me. I suffer from Dad Disease, an affliction that more than 85.2 million fathers in North America deal with every day. Dad Disease causes forgetfulness, numbness and numerous, though fortunately odorless, brain farts.

Yes, you remembered to take out the garbage. Yes, you successfully dropped the kids off at school. Yes, you remembered to feed the cat. But have you ever tried to find the Cayenne pepper? I don't know  about you, but there are a lot of spices in our kitchen cabinet.

Dad Disease does not discriminate, and it's roots are genetic, environmental and downright innate. Dad Disease does not improve with time, and eventually leads to forgetting important dates, such as your anniversary and wife's birthday. 

There is a simple cure, though. It takes just a minute of your time, and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home.

Unfortunately, I've forgotten it.