Most of us have published posts about memory problems that accompany aging. The good thing about blogging is that your realize that you are seldom alone. As our filing systems become overloaded with new information, it is common for some of the old info to get misfiled. That is my excuse anyway.
But I had a new symptom recently hit. In my last post I mentioned how delighted I was with the light snow we had gotten over night. Being a Florida girl, these sights thrill me. Being kind of south, we rarely get more than two inches. I can't imagine what the poor folks who live around the great lakes are getting. That is beyond brutal.
Anyway a few nights ago, I looked out just before bed and was thrilled to see just about the same amount of snow we had the other day coming down. I went to bed smiling and couldn't wait to see what was on the ground in the morning.
Shockingly though, in the morning the ground was totally bare. There wasn't a trace of snow anywhere. What happened?? Did I dream it?? Or horrors, did I hallucinate it?? I mean a slight memory slip up is one thing but imagining a ground covered in snow was another.
I checked the news and the Internet but found nothing. This was shaking me up but salvation was just a phone call away. My neighbor called after breakfast and wanted to know if I had enjoyed the snow. It seems her husband had also noticed it before bedtime but I guess it was just too warm to stick even a little bit overnight.
Phew, I hadn't gone round the bend---yet.
Ever had a scare about your memory only to find out all is well??
Of course that I almost forgot to write this post shows I am not completely well:)
Haha--Patti you sound like a bit of a novice when it comes to those squalls! I'm just glad you're okay, I got up this morning to read your blog and was surprised you hadn't posted yet--I thought "Either Patti's laptop is on the fritz again or..." I didn't want to consider anything else. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed for some sticky snow by Christmas :^)
ReplyDeleteDoug,
ReplyDeleteSorry about my memory slip on what day it was and thank you for your concern. I guess is is not a good time to slip up posting the week after you told everyone that you had been sick. Bad timing.:Yes, a snow for Christmas would be lovely.
That's a post with a good outcome indeed. Glad someone else saw the snow! You are too precious to be allowed to get sick again, okay? :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteAww, that is so sweet of you to say. And yes, I sure am glad Bob also saw the same thing. Ya don't suppose we both hallucinated:)
I wish our snow would go away over night. We got 24 inches, but we have some warm temperatures coming this week so hopefully most of it will melt. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteMemory issues are the pits. I mostly can't remember who died and who hasn't I can't ask cousins, "how's your mom (or dad) doing."
Jean,
DeleteI can't imagine 24 inches. That would keep you locked in so I hope you melt too.
Wow, that really is awkward about who died. I guess if you know you will be running in to your cousins, you could Google the obits.
I have this childhood memory of my mom saying she once touched a girl, that touched a girl that touched Elvis's big toe. When I mentioned it to her decades later, she said she had no idea where I got such a story but not from her. No idea whose memory was wrong but one of ours was.
ReplyDeleteSusanne,
DeleteI was tempted to say--"hey, I was that girl." but thought better of it. That is too convoluted a story to be made up.
I don't know what's worse: memory issues or when your kids are looking out for memory issues, and when you just forget something, they all look at each other! I'm glad someone else saw that snow, hugs to you!
ReplyDeleteDella,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Ooh, that "look" would be unnerving especially when I saw you had 16 kids. Yikes. Fortunately I hang out with people my age so we just smile.
16 kids???
DeleteRiver
DeleteI know, check her out. Quite the handsome family.
Yes, memory issues are a concern, Patti. I'm never sure when someone brings up something that I have no memory of... if it's me or them. Recently my friend (my age) brought up that I had been to their son's home (on 200 acres) at one time. I have no memory of that... told her she must have been with someone else. She said no, it was you. I can't believe that I wouldn't remember that...
ReplyDeleteBut glad you didn't hallucinate the snow!
Rian,
DeleteWhen they are my age, I assume it was them that was wrong. Probably not right but makes me feel better.
Thanks. Me too on the snow.
Patti, you have an amazing memory and sense of humor. Keep on truckin', girl.
ReplyDeletegigi,
DeleteAww, thanks so much for the vote of confidence. Sometimes I need that.
It's all about the temperature of air and ground at this time of year and I suspect especially in your location. No hallucinations needed! We left VT the day before the first snow (which didn't really stick either). I am long past the delight of seeing it snow. I do miss Kevin and Amy waking up and running down the stairs all excited for the first snow.
ReplyDeleteOlga,
DeleteWhich is why I am sure Florida appeals to you so much in the winter. I am like the kids--totally excited each time. That is from years in Florida with no snow. The novelty hasn't warn off.
My memory these days has declined so rapidly that it is scary. I was once the Memory Source for my whole family, and now I can't remember much of anything. I start most sentences these days with, "I can't remember, did I ....? I'm glad that the snow you saw really happened that your memory is intact. (Comment by NewRobin13)
ReplyDeleteRobin,
DeleteThat is when blogging is a big help remembering. When it comes to remembering if I have done something, when I am through, I point my finger and just say remember. It seems to work.
I have actually had something like that happen many years ago. I'd met my mom in Saskatoon to watch a curling event and drove home that night after the event was over. It ended about 10:30 at night so the highway was pretty quiet. I'll admit I was struggling to stay awake as I got closer to home, when I noticed to the west flashes of lightening. It was January and very, very cold, so at that point I was a bit worried that I was hallucinating. I arrived home about 1 a.m., crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep as I had to be up for work the next morning. On the way to work, I heard the weather announcer comment that if anyone had been awake during the night they might have seen an unusual phenomenon, a lightening storm in January. Can I tell how relieved I was to hear that? But I still won't drive when I'm very tired.
ReplyDeleteI have an excuse; after heart surgery in 2014, I had a small stroke. I attribute all my foibles and memory loss to that. The man who gives my husband communion on Sunday told us he had been worried about his memory loss, so his doc ordered an MRI. It showed that his brain is shrinking - and that leads to dementia. What a horrible diagnosis! I am loathe to ever have a brain MRI now!!
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteOh my, that is something I do not want to ever learn. Ignorance is bliss. Luckily I can't have an MRI since I have a pacemaker so I will never have to learn that.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting.
Eileen,
ReplyDeleteWow,that had to be quite unnerving. How fortunate someone saw it and it became weather news. Phew. Driving tired is scary. I won't do it either .
Oh yes. I worry too. My father had Alzheimers. And my mother (although she is 93) is showing some alarming signs of dementia. I'm having her checked by the geriatric doctor in January. However, I see what's waiting for me. It's very spooky.
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteSo sorry for your worries about your Mom. We have all gotten to know her and have become fond of her. I know you and Art are giving her the very best of care. My neighbor has the beginnings of dementia but whatever the meds she is taking are really working well. We talk almost every day and I see no signs of it. There is a lot of progress being made towards that disease.
I asked her geriatric doctor about any meds she could take. The doctor said there's really no real cure and there are side effects to consider. Darn! I wish they'd find something that would work.
DeleteIt happens to me too frequently and I'm a couple decades younger than you. Did I lower the garage door before I left? Did I leave my curling iron on? What appointment did I forget this week?
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
DeleteI started with a few memory lapses at your age and decades later am still fairly sharp. Sadly it is a part of aging but can be worked around.
Waay too often. I get so worried since my dad had parkinson's dementia. Glad your snow didn't stick around. We could all be in Buffalo. :-)
ReplyDeletePeg,
ReplyDeleteHope you inherited all his good genes and none of the bad. The way you and Rick laugh, I am sure that is just the right meds to keep you sharp and healthy..
I know, Buffalo is a scary place to live about now. Can't imagine snow that deep. Hope they get a break soon.
We have that kind of snow all the time. No hallucinating, just hoping for a snow day and disappointment in the morning.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
DeleteGlad I'm not the only one it has happened to. And yes, disappointed.
I had a memory glitch just this morning! Bumped into a neighbour at the supermarket and she told me her next-door neighbour had died. I said "gosh I just saw him two days ago and he seemed fine" turns out he's been in hospital for the past six weeks, so now I don't remember when it was I saw him last. He wasn't terribly old, about 80 I think.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteSometimes that happens for as we get older time just flies. When I argue with a doctor that I already had that test he gently reminds me that it was 6 months ago. Sigh.
Is seeing apparitions in house we've lived in before considered hallucinations?
ReplyDeleteAnni,
DeleteYikes, you actually saw ghosts?? I'm a little envious.
I don't know...but it was ghostly!!
DeleteAs my dad said, don't worry about dementia. You'll be worrying other people. lol
ReplyDeleteI have become a little more absent minded than I like. I think about taking some of those memory pills. You couldn't blog as coherently as you do if you had a problem. Add to that, I know a few who are not totally all together. You know, not being wrapped too tight is not that bad if you don't have bad dreams.
Ann,
DeleteThanks. I think blogging helps us all to keep tethered to reality. Great therapy.
Patti, my brain and my flashlight both keep flickering on and off!
ReplyDelete