two-track mind

Last night as I was reading a Curious George book to Eden, I began to think ...

I'm so glad i got the orange and white striped top at Target today. She's gonna look so cute in it at Boo at the Zoo ...  wonder when her black tights are going to be here ... should I have spent $4 dollars on black pants when I already ordered black tights? Oh well, she can wear the black pants with her pink dress with balck polka dots, but she could also wear the black tights with that. ... $4 is fine for a pair of play pants that she can wear tomorrow ... she is going to be meowing all afternoon with those cats on the front of her shirt ... oh, she'll look so cute and she can wear her white jacket with the ruffles if it's cold ... Is Josie going to be in a costume? ... should I wear something halloweeny ... ...

huh. I'm still reading this book to her out loud ...

And I just turned a page so I'm actually reading to her out loud while I'm thinking this.

How long have I been reading out loud and thinking this if I turned a page and didn't even really know I was doing it?

And, then it just got to be too much thinking so I tried to just read the words and look down at her and take in what I was doing. How strange is that?! To be reading a book that you don't have memorized out loud but be thinking something else at exactly the same time.

One of my dear friends says she works out parts of her dissertation while reading her daughter Beatrix Potter, so at least I know I'm not crazy. But, the more I think about it the more it seems so, so strange. How in the world does that work?

{ajb}