Some days are Sunny, others are a B*tch

Blogging entry for September 29, 2021

I remember when I was about 10 and was home alone. A delivery man came to our door with a long white box for my Mom. It was my parents wedding anniversary in June and we lived in a window air conditioned house in Georgia. The man told me it was flowers but nothing else. I put them away in a closet. Dad was out of town and he called later that night to ask my Mom how she liked her gift?????? Talk about feeling bad, I ran and got the box out to open it. Two dozen red roses, wrapped in green tissue) were looking kind of half dead. Mom put them in water but they didn't recover very well. One in a lifetime of forgetful acts that I will never forget. Dad was a carpenter and that cost him a lot of money. No one punished me, I punished myself enough.

I will be 68 in less than a month and forgetfulness is a concern. Since I watched my own Mom descend into dementia followed by Alzheimer’s by her mid 70’s, it is a real legitimate worry. We live in a community of many neighbors that have grown children , grandchildren and few younger people. I guess the people I speak to talk about it quite a bit also. There are a few of us that are retired RN’s or physicians. Most were business owners so I get a lot of medical questions about it. My explanation to people about the difference between garden variety forgetfulness and dementia to worry about. Ask yourself do you go into a room and forgot what you went in there for? Not a big deal! My grown children do that. I used to have to make lists because I was multi tasking in my younger years. I still make lists, makes life easier. You need to worry when you drive or walk somewhere you’ve been to many times and suddenly you don’t know where you are or how to get home.

We all leave our iPhones in shopping carts or in the car at some point but can retrace our steps. Just call the number or there is an app. Forgetfulness is part of a busy life and that isn’t a bad thing. Forgetting a grandchild’s birthday isn’t a big deal, that is why I write them down. Forgetting who our President is quite another story or the year we are in. I forget peoples names constantly but so do my kids.

Recently a neighbor, about our age, is beginning to act like my Mom did. He is helping my husband built something. I invited him over for dinner. He repeated the same story 3 times during the meal. I am concerned for him. I even asked him if he had problems and he said his daughter is going to take him to a neurologist. He lives alone.

Enjoy each day and keep writing, reading, eating well and exercising. That is what I shoot for. Life is too good to worry about the small stuff.

Have a wonderful day!