I Admit It: My Senior Moments Are Piling Up

By Rev. DAVID L. CHANCEY
Pastor

I admit it. I’m becoming forgetful. I make a mental note, but can’t remember where I put it. I lay down my reading glasses, and then have to hunt for them. I open the fridge, but can’t recall what I was looking for. I start to do something, but then get side-tracked, and don’t complete what I started until I’m reminded. I start to say something, but if I get interrupted, I lose my train of thought. I leave myself messages on my voice mail at work to remind me to do important things. Sometimes I remember how to get into the voice mail. Did I already take my pill, or was I about to take my pill?

Often I feel like the two seniors who were out driving in a large car. Both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The light was red but they went on through it.

The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, “I must be losing it. I’m sure we just went through a red light!”

They came to another intersection and that light was red. Again the driver ran right through it. This time the passenger was almost sure the light was red, but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay closer attention to the road and the next intersection.

They approached the next light, which was definitely red, and they flew right through it.

The passenger turned to the driver and said, “Mildred! Did you know we just went through three red lights in a row? You could get us killed!”

Mildred turned her head and said, “Oh, dear, am I driving?”

Well, I’m not that bad, but my “senior” moments are piling up. Talk about middle-age spread. I’m suffering from middle age memory fade. According to Dr. Allan Levey, chairman of neurology at Emory University, some people start losing memory about age 25, but almost everybody struggles by age 40. No one is quite certain why memory starts to fade during early middle age. “There are probably many factors that contribute to decline, which vary in different people,” said Dr. Levey.

For one thing, we have more and more to remember. Or, to put it another way, in this age of information and multi-tasking, we have more to forget: multiple passwords, cellphone numbers, email addresses, websites, not to mention the names of our children. Or our wedding anniversary.

A recent newspaper article gave some tips for improving memory:

*Do crossword puzzles. One published study found that seniors who did crossword puzzles four days a week had a 47 percent lower risk of dementia than seniors who did puzzles only once a week.

*Take up dancing, bridge, or take continuing education courses.

*Exercise helps your mind as well as your body.

*Play a musical instrument, take up chess, and don’t just sit in front of the TV. Challenge your mind.

*Concentrate. When you’re introduced to someone new, look the person in the eye, and say their name a few times silently. Try to associate their name with their face. Try to speak to the person again before you leave and call them by name.

*Form habits. If you get lost in parking lots, park in the same place each time. Pick out a favorite spot and park in that general area.

*Read a book on improving your memory.

*Tell jokes. Not just one-liners, but longer jokes. It forces you to think a few seconds ahead.

*Avoid alcohol.

*Reduce stress. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 14, 2004, page N8).

In other words, use it or lose it.

(Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Georgia. Join the church family this Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. They meet at 352 McDonough Road, just beyond the department of motor vehicles office).