November 3, 2022
Most everyone gets confused from time to time. It shouldn't be a big deal. The spousal unit hasn't worked a job away from home in twenty years, and for almost that long he's been asking me what day of the week it is. Having recently retired, I understand it better. The first thing I look at every morning is my calendar. That's just so I have an answer for HIM, you know. It's not because I need to know what day of the week it is.
Often times our little confusions are because we've not been paying attention when someone is telling us something. We've forgotten how to listen and so days later we embarrass ourselves when we have to call a friend and ask what it was they told about [fill in the blank].
We're all subject to those little annoying lapses. It takes on a new light when you have a parent with Alzheimer's Disease. Trust me. I know.
When I forget something important, I panic. My heart races and I stop dead in my tracks until I can get clarity. I'm not trying to be a drama queen but it's frightening. I wonder if IT is happening to me. I went back to keeping a written desk calendar/diary this year. It's a good record to have and maybe it will entertain my younger cousins when they have to settle my estate and clean out my office. The scary part of all that is that my mother had notebook after notebook with list upon list detailing her attempts to stay in control of her life.
We humans frequently allow our imaginations to seize control. A tiny pain is surely cancer. Eating any white food will give us diabetes. Aging eyesight must be macular degeneration. Forgetting we bought shampoo and then buying another bottle the next week is surely a warning sign of dementia.
I'm trying my best to not be an alarmist. My imagination is best used for writing love stories, not scaring myself stupid.
I think that retiring from the workforce brings a new way of thinking to a person's life. There's an adjustment period as stress levels drop and what is so frequently referred to as the new normal takes hold. Being the Lady of the Manor and a full-time writer is a dream I've long held dear. I'm finally there but here has pitfalls I'd not imagined.
Where did I leave my phone? In the garden shed.
Did we feed the dog last night? We both did - he's going to get fat.
I hate to say it, but that is not dementia. Dementia would give me an excuse and I have none because I damn sure am not getting old!
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KC Kendricks, Rayne Forrest, aging, romance novels, new normal, retirement, Between the Keys blog, social media, cellphone, calendars, questioning
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