Anyone know what the average age for the onset of Alzheimer’s is? I’m pretty sure it can’t be 34, but since I’m having a very difficult time remembering anything these days, I can’t guarantee it. I swear, my brain has checked out and left no forwarding address. I miss it.
I needed to pay bills on Sunday. I’m upstairs in my office; the checkbook is downstairs in my purse. I go downstairs to get it, and return to my desk a few minutes later with a drink and a snack. Realizing I still need the checkbook, I head back down the stairs, only to stand in the middle of the living room wondering what I’d come downstairs for. It doesn’t come to me, so I go back upstairs, see the bills, remember I need the checkbook, and head downstairs one more time. To be safe, I repeat “checkbook, checkbook, checkbook,” all the way down to the kitchen.
I guess I should be pleased I got a little exercise, right? All that stair climbing is good for me.
Y’all know I love a To Do list more than most, but my To Do list is now my lifeline. Without it, I’d never remember to call person A or drop off item B. My Immediate To Do list is on the front of my calendar, which houses the long-term To Do Forecast. If either of them go missing, I’m totally screwed.
Yes, it’s irritating as hell to search for my keys every day, but this brain defect is affecting my WIP now. I lose complete track of timelines—did that happen Tuesday or Wednesday? What day is it anyway in this book? Last week, I forgot my heroine’s name. Spellcheck kept telling me it was spelled wrong, when I knew for a fact I’d added her name to the dictionary. I was cussing hard (I can’t stand seeing the little squiggly red lines while I’m trying to type), when I realized THAT WASN’T HER NAME. Great. Find and Replace time. Sigh. .
Once upon a time, I was smart. Articulate even. People praised me for my organizational skills. These days I’ll forget why I called you in the time it takes for you to answer the phone.
I’m making do with my To Do list, but I’d love to get my brain working again. Anyone have any suggestions?
Meanwhile, I’m going to go see if DG happens to know my passwords so I can check my email…
PC
8 comments:
I'm sorry, honey. You can count that brain as by-by until after the Luncheon you are coordinating is over. You just have too much to do. My suggestion? Clear your plate... which is impossible until the Luncheon is over.... See a pattern? :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now I know I'm not the only one. I'll walk into my office and forget why I did. I'll open a browser page and forget what my destination was. Heck, (and I waffled on whether to admit this one) I've even had to use the panic button on my car key to locate my vehicle in the Walmart parking lot.
My mother has this theory: If you can't find your car keys, you're just forgetful and/or disorganized (my keys ALWAYS go back in my purse and it's either on the kitchen counter by the door or in my office on the chair). If you find your keys and don't know what to do with them, then you have a problem.
I think it's a matter of plate-clearing as Angel said. I tend to be more scattered when my To Do list is fuller.
PM
Oh, PC, just wait until you forget who you've called...and not just why...in the space of time between you dialing and them answering. It's a bad feeling. ;-) And I do think it's a function of too much swirling around in your brain.
Oh thank God. It isn't just me! I know some of my braincell defection occured during my pregnancies. I was assured they would return again...about the time the children reach 18. I'm not holding out hope.
You know what's really bad? I live in fear of forgetting something important at my day job - like paying payroll or the bimonthly payroll taxes. So what if I forget to pick up bread at the grocery store. I don't think the IRS will understand if I tell them, "Really. I just forgot."
Instigator
I do know my keys operate that Bug in the garage, it's where I'm supposed to be going that's a problem sometimes!
Yesterday I got up from my desk 3 times and walked out into the office bay, stopped, then turned around and sat back down because I didn't remember where I was going. The minute I'd sit down, I'd see my screen, remember why I got up, then do it again.
I think its a matter of just taking on too much. My brain only has so much room. I've always had the theory that my mind has a finite capacity, like a file cabinet. If I want to add a new file, I have to purge an old one. Unfortunately, all my drawers are filled with useless trivia and music lyrics I refuse to part with so if its not super important, I don't even bother storing it anymore. That's what the Tasks & Notepad sections of MS Outlook are for...
PS. I lose my keys every day. I lose my sunglasses every other day.
I'm really bad about losing my keys and sunglasses, too. One day I was in a hurry and couldn't find my keys. I searched and searched, fussed and fussed, not in my purse, not on the counter, not in a jacket or left in the car. I began to panic but finally decided to look at the key holder next to the door. Tada! The keys were right where they should have been all along but I forgot to look there. Time wasted...15 minutes. Doubting one's sanity...priceless.
Geez, PC, if luncheon preparations are the cause for your forgetfulness, I'm in bad trouble. I'm like this all the time! So I guess I can thank you now for eliminating any doubts as to what my life is going to be like for the next year. :-)
Kathy
I no longer lose my keys. :-) I bought this cool thing several years ago. It's a big sivler ring...which conveniently hangs on the back door knob. :-)
Sorry, PC! Hopefully things will return to normal soon!
Rhonda
PS--Am having to post anon because Blogger keeps telling me I have the incorrect password!!! It did that yesterday, so I reset it to the same password. Argh!!!!
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