Kirk, I lose my thoughts in mid-sentence so much more than I did 10, or even 5, years ago. It happens a great deal now, actually. I am only 29 (as of next week) and I can still concentrate...but the ease to which I am distracted is frightening! We's gettin old, Kirk!
When I finished watching "Memento" in the theater, I walked out into the lobby and the street and it took my mind a few minutes to readjust to the fact that I could use recollection of experience to color the things around me, instead of just raw context.
kirk: i have always been completely immersed in the book i was reading! i remember getting in trouble with my mom when i was much younger for 'ignoring' her; when in actuality, i'd never heard her. to this day i still get involved mentally with the characters of a good book. nothing beats that kind of time off from the world and all the stuff of daily life! my daughter is the same way. frequently she will laugh out loud while reading something funny. strange to hear at midnite.
as for the short circuits you are experiencing... i imagine it is mostly situational right now and this too will pass to some degree when the stressors you are presently under pass. time and distance. chin up. btw, where is the line of kirkbloggers-waiting-to-jump-you forming???
j/k. just wanted to make ya smile! :)