Her mind Chest, arms, armpits, stomach, back and legs. She soaped herself down in the shower. All the was a different story. She told her friends she was “losing my nouns.” Or that, “my brain is on dial-up.” This was particularly annoying: people’s names and place names came to her slowly. She found herself using the word “thing” when she couldn’t remember the name of an item. As in, “Will you hand me that red thing over there?” Or if she couldn’t remember a name, she would say, “Oh, you know, the guy who invented the printing press….what was his name?” This was upsetting for someone who used to stand up in front of a class and lecture!
She did wonder occasionally if these were signs of the much-dreaded Alzheimer’s Disease. Everyone assured her that it wasn’t. But what about walking into the kitchen, only to forget what the heck she had come for? Or opening the refrigerator when she meant to open the pantry? Surely that is indicative of something?
And lists. She had a list for everything. There was the Costco list, the Walmart list, and the “to do” daily list. There was something gratifying about crossing out the items on the daily “to do” list: pay the bills, fertilize the roses. At least she wasn’t so nutty that she forgot to feed the dog!
Lately her thoughts had turned to the future. It seemed to her that she was becoming more of an observer of life and less of a participant. She had lived an ordinary life. She had married and had children; she had endured the rewards and disappointments that life had offered. Every morning she woke up, grateful for another day, yet wondering how many more days she would have. She wanted to strangle the person who came up with the expression “Golden Years.” Obviously, he or she hadn’t arrived at the “Golden years” yet. What a bunch of hooey.
She sighed and shut off the water. Yes, getting older was hard but the alternative was worse.