...am I getting dumber?

It was my greatest fear with quitting my job and staying home.

I would get dumber.

My job kept me pretty sharp.  My boss was actually very intelligent (something I can't say about all bosses I've ever had) and the people I worked with were, for the most part, some of the most intelligent people I've ever known.

And the work itself was challenging.  New accounts, forensic accounting, piles of data, huge projects to structure, infrastructure development, etc.

So I was worried when I quit that I would get dumber, because I wouldn't have those same mental exercises every day.  Don't use it - lose it, right? 

And to a certain extent, it's been true.  I'm mixing up words.  I'm making up new words.  I'm using fewer words on a daily basis.  It's somewhat tougher for me to speak in complex sentences.

I have a feeling some of this could be explained by just being with a baby for most of my time now.  I speak in simple sentences for much of the day.  I use simpler words.  And I'm (mostly) always distracted by the baby, so I don't have my full attention on speaking to my husband, the friend that's over, etc. 

I checked out a book on hyperconsumerism to read at the library today, and I'll admit, it was tough reading that first chapter this afternoon during nap time.  I used to breeze through dense reading like that.  But two months of not reading contracts every day, and suddenly it's tough again.

The flip side of things is that since I'm not spending all of my energy on being sharp and smart at work, I'm enjoying my daughter more, and noticing things I never noticed before.

... and that's something I'm okay with being a little dumb for.  :-)