Memory

 There are so many things we take for granted. 

The sun rises every morning and sets in the evening. Your mother-in-law will visit for the weekend and then stay for the month. Your kids will grow up and be a lot smarter than you. It's all expected.

You spend much of your life cramming your brain with events, facts, and ideas. Like files in a filing cabinet, you refer to them with frequency and you usually can find what you are looking for. I married in this year and my kids were born on these years. I graduated in another year. It's all there. 

And then you get old. Maybe not all old people are afflicted similarly. Some get cancers. Some get stomach problems. Some are arthritic. But some get memory challenges. The exception is wives. They never forget anything. 

I don't want to depress you. So if you are not into memory issues then hit exit and find something better to do with your time. But life is life and part of life is aging whether you want to admit it or not. 

Many attributes leave you as you age. In your thirties you are already seeing declines in your ability to run or jump. That bothers you when you try to get to first base. As you hit your 70s, it is your brain that can't run as fast and you are lucky if you can even find first base. Ok, I exaggerate. But exaggeration does not reverse the truth. 

Hmmm. What was I writing about? Oh yes, memory. 

What to do? Possibly one can recognize that we are given the opportunity to be here for a while and then we have to exit. No one I know of has been able to escape that reality. Second, we can be humble and accept the fact (perhaps kicking and screaming) that we will decline physically and mentally, Third, do the best you can. Don't sugar-coat it. Deal with it. 

If you can't remember s_ _t, then find a way to try to remember. Maybe you can write things down. I don't go anywhere these days without my little pad of paper and very short pencil (that cramps my hand). I am finding that I write down so much that I am now taking a book with me. That is, if I can remember to take it with me. Along with having the book and writing in it, I have to remember to refer to it. That's hard when you can't remember sh_ _. 

Writing in a book about everything you just did or what you plan to do is a real pain. Another option is to use your phone or tablet to enter all this past and future information. I find that pencil and paper works better for me but maybe you prefer typing. 

Neither paper nor tablet will be satisfactory. The truth is that all this is just part of a process that ends poorly. In the meantime, hug your loved ones and just be thankful if you can remember how to find your way home.