There was a time when I once used the excuse, ‘I forgot’ to get out of trouble because I didn’t do something (like chores or homework). The fact of the matter is that, at that time, I actually didn’t forget (I can tell you’re stunned), it was that I simply didn’t wish to do those particular things.
That was then. Back then I could remember details down to the pattern of someone’s clothing without so much as a sniff of effort. I could recall, verbatim, the dialogue of a movie I enjoyed, and could quote passages from books that I had the pleasure of reading.
That was then. Remember being told not to make that face because one day it will stick like that? Apparently it also works for memory. I dipped once too often into the pool of ‘I forgot.’ For, you see, now I have discovered that if I wish to remember something, I must write it down. And even then, writing it down does little good if I forget where I wrote it down.
More than once, I have had to call my cellphone in an attempt to remember where I put it. It has become not uncommon for me to put things where I “won’t lose them” only to forget that: a) I had something I wasn’t supposed to forget; and b) where it was I put them.
Have I reached the point in my life where I am beginning to lose the few functional braincells I have left? Am I doomed to roam the rest of my life with a bag around my neck full of the things I need to remember? Does this mean I will begin to repeat myself because I can’t remember if I have said it? Is there such a thing as a reset button for my brain to reboot it back into safe mode?
Yesterday I had a mental list of specific items I needed to pick up from the grocer/pharmacy (my heart meds being among them). I remembered the list perfectly, reciting it all the way to the store and all the way across the parking lot. But the moment I stepped inside, I couldn’t even remember my name, much less what I came for. I must have had a befuddled look on my face, because the pharmacist I’ve been dealing with for years happened by and asked if I wanted to pick up my meds. No bell went off, I just numbly followed and got my meds and eventually wandered back out to the car. Upon arriving home, my list magically re-entered my mind.
Age, thou art a heartless witch!
