At a drinks party eyeing the enticing smorgasbord of delicacies and about to make my selection, I was greeted with a beaming smile and an enthusiastic welcoming hug by a tall, attractive woman. I of course acquiesced, as you do. Exchanging how we both were and enjoying a jovial chat, we were interrupted by the host who wanted to introduce me to a friend, promising the woman I would catch up with her later, which fortunately did not happen. The problem is, I had no idea who she was. Relaying the incident and a detailed description to my husband, he had no idea either, but wanted to know why I didn’t admit to my mental lapse of not remembering her. My justification was it seemed rude, a weak argument I know, but there it is.
I wonder in amazement when the synapses at times do not seem to connect, the moments we refer to as ‘senior moments’ or ‘brain fog’. A neuroscientist study claims what we think is a memory problem is often an attention problem. The other day I went to the garage and stood wondering what I came for and once caught myself mid-act putting the milk in the freezer. On occasions I have failed to turn off my Induction cooker, but in my defense there is no visual indication to ascertain whether it’s on or off, the zones remaining pitch-black, unlike the flames of gas or red highlighted on a ceramic cooktop. A friend knowing my family are from Montserrat enquired what was its size and population, facts I know but, was just not forthcoming. Or midway during an animated discussion, forgetting the very salient point I wanted to make. Coming across a friend at the supermarket, the topic of memory lapse arose spending half an hour hogging the aisle exchanging stories, some in retrospect seemed hilarious. With the host of passwords we have to remember, choosing my mother’s pet name and date of birth was I thought brilliantly easy-peasy, but alas! On occasions forget whether the ‘a’ starts with a capital or not, as I am asked to try again. 50+s out there no doubt have their own stories. For those who cannot relate to this, you are most fortunate, lucky you!
The adage ‘use it or lose it’ comes to mind and vow to resume crosswords, sudoku and take a look at the brain training web site ‘luminoisity.com’. Thankfully, since making an association with peoples’ name, a pointer I learned from an ex-marketing director boss, I can now effortlessly remember names. This is a highly recommended tip by the way. My ‘yard stick’ however is a favourite quote from the play ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth’s soliloquy “tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in its petty pace from day to day …” which I can still recite verbatim since school days phew!
I still cannot recall who the woman is, but have concluded I am someone she obviously thinks she knows, making it her problem and not mine. Now, what did I do with my mobile phone?
