Old Age Memory Problems

[2nighthawks]

Not sure which is more difficult,.....remembering to take my pills in the morning, or, sometime about mid-morning, trying to remember whether or not I took my pills!

[Rich Eagle]

Look at is as cheap entertainment. I often search for tools until I forgot what I needed them for. When I search the far corners of the premises I find all sorts of treasures and wonder when and where they came from. I have trouble seeing where I left my glasses. Not hearing what was said or remembering what the rule is sometimes is a blessing. There are a great number of advantages to reaching senility that I can't remember at the moment but isn't it nice to still be here?
Well, i'm not even sure of that but what the heck?
Thanks for bringing this up.
Rich

[perry kete]

I wanted to add a comment but I can't remember what it was.

[Rich Bingham]

I'm having a ball in geezerville - not much has changed. I've always had bum eyesight (wore glasses since I was six) so wearing specs is no big deal. I've always been scatter-brained and forgetful, but now I can claim a "senior moment", and I get a bye. Kinda like hollering "King's X" when we were kids. Being hard of hearing is great. I sleep much better in the quiet, and most folks don't get mad if I ignore 'em. They reckon I just didn't hear them. Pills ? I don't take none, so nothing to forget. Doc says whiskey and aspirin "PRN" is okay for pain and snakebite so long as I don't overdo it. I know my memory is okay, 'cause I never seem to forget where I put the bottle. like W.C. Fields, I'm thinking of cultivating a relationship with a small snake. My knees are shot, but there's nothing upstairs I really need anyhow, and my pony's broke to mount from the fence rail or a stump.

[Burger in Spokane]

The key to aging and memory loss is to never forget to tell the grandkids to pull
your finger. The rest is just details.

[david_dewey]

I forget, why was I reading this thread??

[Rich Eagle]

I thought this might be an interesting thread and realized I had already read it a couple of times. Everything old is new again if you wait long enough. It doesn't take as long now.
Ric.....

[Ruxstel24]

Yeah Rich, there’s no such thing as reruns anymore....unless you are watching the news !!

[PDGx]

Like I said .....

[46woodduck]

Why am I sitting at my computer this late at night. I should be in bed.

[Rich Eagle]

I don't know, Thomas. It seemed a little more like morning to me.

[2nighthawks]

Always knew I would eventually become "elderly", but I honestly thought it would take longer!

[FreighTer Jim]

I went out to lunch years ago & never returned.

Try getting back on the freeway and heading the wrong way - only realizing it when the territory starts looking familiar ....


FJ

[Rich Eagle]

Sometimes I remember I have a task to do. Later I recall remembering it but can be sure whether I did it or just though about it. I was going to mention this earlier but.....

[Burger in Spokane]

I got up this morning with a list of things to do in my head that had been simmering there all week.

First up was washing the car. I got up and put on some clothes, then went downstairs to get a bite
to eat before starting the day. It was then that I remembered I had left the groceries I bought yesterday
in the car, so I headed for the garage to go get them, only to realize that I ought to put some shoes on
before going out there, so I went in search of my shoes.

I found the shoes by the couch, where I took them off last night while reading, which reminded me that
I had not finished the article I was reading, so I sat down to read the last few paragraphs. But that didn’t
go anywhere, because I needed my glasses, so I got up to go look for them. As I was doing this, I remembered
I was hungry, and changed directions to go get the groceries out of the car. Upon arrival at the car, I found
the trunk closed and the car locked. Back into the house to get the keys.

This took a while, because I needed to find my glasses first. So upstairs I went to look for them by the
bed stand, but they were not there. I did find the keys though. So downstairs I went to look for my coat,
thinking I might have put my glasses in a pocket. I found a coat in the hall closet, but there were no glasses
in any of the pockets. I found another coat I wear a lot on the hook by the door. Rifling through the pockets
there, I also found no glasses. By this time I was feeling pretty thirsty, so I went to the fridge and opened a
can of Pepsi and took a swig. It was while sipping the Pepsi that I realized that I had totally forgot what I
was looking for, before I went to get a Pepsi. I retraced my steps and remembered looking through pockets,
but could not remember what I was looking for. It wasn’t coming to me, so I opened the door and saw the
lawn needed mowing.

Out to the shed to get the mower. Halfway there, I realized I did not want to be mowing the grass in my
house shoes, so I went back inside and out to the hall by the garage to change my shoes. With shop shoes
on, I headed back out to the shed for some reason, but had to think about it for a while to remember what
I had come out there for. Oh, yes … the lawn mower ! I pulled it out onto the walkway and checked the oil
and gas. It was low enough on gas that what was there would not cut the whole lawn, so I looked around
for the gas and remembered it was in the trunk of the car, because I was supposed to fill it up last time I
was out, but had forgotten. So, I left the mower where it sat, and went to the garage to get in the car and
drive to the gas station to get some gas. Do you think I could find my keys ? I had set them down somewhere,
and done a pretty good job of hiding them. I looked everywhere and could not find them. Again, I felt thirsty,
so I looked around for the Pepsi I had opened earlier, but I had set it down somewhere …. probably with the
keys. I gave up looking for the Pepsi and returned to the fridge to open a fresh one. It was there, on the center
shelf, that I found my glasses. Right behind the Pepsi. With glasses on my face, I stood there wondering what
I came in there looking for. I felt hungry again and remembered the food was locked in the trunk. Oh yeah ….
keys ! I trundled off in search of the keys again. The wife came in about this time and asked if she could wash
my jackets. I responded “yes”, and she found my keys in a pocket, where I had left them while looking for my
glasses.

Now, I had my keys and my glasses, so I went to the car to do something, but could not remember what.
Pangs of hunger reminded me of the groceries and so I popped the trunk and took them into the kitchen.
Being that it was already after lunch, I gave up in the notion of a quick morning bite and figured I’d grab
something while I was out getting, …. uh, …. oh yeah, gas !

Out to the car, I sat down and fumbled for the keys. They were gone again. After some looking around,
I getting really hungry and short tempered, and being careless, smashed my thumb while closing the trunk. The
pain was excruciating, but I found the keys ! Right there in the trunk lock. With glasses, keys, and throbbing
thumb, I got in the car and go to get gas. The gas can filled, I remembered I needed *something* at the hardware
store, so I drove over there in hopes that I would remember what it was that I needed. I walked around the
aisles, looking at the wares, in hopes it would spark my memory, but it didn’t happen. By this time it was mid-
afternoon and that lawn wasn’t going to mow itself, so I got back in the car and went home, put gas in the mower
and went to start it. That’s what I needed at the hardware store ! … pull cord. The pull cord had broken last
time I tried to start it. Back to the hardware store for some cord, I returned and rewound the starter spool, and
before I could get it started, realized I was so hungry that my hands were shaking. I went inside to see if the
wife had something planned for dinner. She was nowhere to be found and the groceries were all put away.
Do you think I could find where she put anything ? Frustrated, I looked outside and realized it was going to
be dark soon enough, and I had a lawn to mow and a car to wash. I had gone hungry this long, … eating
could wait a little longer. I went outside to mow the lawn and remembered I had a part coming for the T, so
I headed to the mailbox to check and see if it had come. The package was there, so I walked it up to the shop
and opened it. I pulled out the crawler and slid under the T to assess the work. It did not seem like I had been
under the T very long when the wife popped in and asked why the lawn mower was on the walkway in the dark.
I climbed out from under the T and went to put the mower back in the shed. It was too late to wash the car.
I walked back in the house and saw an unopened can of Pepsi on the counter. I took off my shop shoes and
sat down in a chair and wondered why I felt so tired after getting nothing done all day. I thought I might finish
reading that article, but I had set my glasses down somewhere .....

[Rich Bingham]

There but for fortune . . .

[PDGx]

But, but - how did you remember all that to write it down ?

[Duey_C]

Sounds like my days too Burger! WTH was I doing?
I successfully pulled off the finger test once and now they just will not...

Back to the OT little shop, WTH was I up to? Oh ya, cleaning! What?
Out here: Darn it. Gotta go potty again. Aha! Vacuum more scale out of those heads!
Back on track, AFTER potty break...

[tdump]

At least I can hide my own Easter eggs now.

[perry kete]

I wanted to add a comment but I can't remember what it was!

[Charlie B in N.J.]

UUUUUUUUUUUuuuuummmmmm……………...Never mind.

[Norman Kling]

I keep ordering parts and installing them and then a few days later I find unopened new parts which I had previously ordered!
Norm

[Bud Delong]

Lately the worst of many old age problems is learning of friends you will never see again.Bud.

[Burger in Spokane]

A dear friend and mentor to me as a kid, said to me when I turned 40, "Don't let
'them' blow smoke up your axx, ... it's all downhill after 40!". Old Bill was 30 years
my senior, and full of all sorts of news about the pitfalls of growing old. If I said
something about getting old, he'd counter "Oh, just wait till .... " and give me a
story about failing eyesight, memory, faith in humanity ....

Gruff, grumpy old bast#rd. We used to laugh till we cried. A great guy. Everyone
should have such a friend.

[frontyboy]

Age is inevitable as is memory issues. While I can't stop that process I have devised a way to make life easier in my shop. In my new shop I spent a lot of time just laying out the interior design. Lathe , milling machine, bench lathe , drill press, benches and cabinets.Once I decided where everything was going I moved in. Took a while but I am really pleased with the layout and the ease of working around in the shop.

I used to spend a lot of time looking for where in the heck I set that tool down. Spent hours looking for a specific part that I needed to finished my current project. Shop supplies were another issue, where was tat box of 1/4-20 bolts?

So here's my solution, I made a large peg board tool board, on the wall in front of my main work bench. All tools that I can hang are placed on a white peg board in size order.
As soon as I finish with a particular tool I hang it back where it belongs. If I walk past my tool board and there is a missing tool, I stop and look until I find it and then hang it up. I have specific drawers for power tools, electrical test equipment, shop supplies. As soon as I'm done with a particular tool from a drawer I put it back. I purchased a bunch of plastic shoe boxes and put parts I take off of my restoration project separated by category and then label the end of the boxes. These are placed on shelves in a storage room for easy access. My nuts and bolts and hardware are in drawers placed by size and thread.

A place for everything, and everything in it's place. I have saved untold hours looking and searching for that lost thing. Now instead of wasting time looking and looking, I spend that time working and doing on my cars. Once I figured this out, it was amazing how much more I can accomplish in a days time. Once a week I do a complete shake down and clean up of all surfaces, machine tools, floors and empty both trash cans. I recycle all stuff that I can and keep a very neat and tidy place to work in.

Just my way of making old age a bit more productive and easier as the days go by.

just sayin'
frontyboy

[Herb Iffrig]

Cousin Dale wrote me today


As I left the hardware store the other day, I was fumbling for my car keys and could not find them. They weren't in my pockets. Suddenly I realized I must have left them in the car. Frantically, I headed for the parking lot. My wife has scolded me many times for leaving my keys in the car's ignition. She's afraid that the car could be stolen. As I looked around the parking lot, I realized she was right. The parking lot was empty. I immediately called the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the car and that it had been stolen.

Then I made the most difficult call of all to my wife: "I left my keys in the car and it's been stolen."
There was a moment of silence. I thought the call had been disconnected, but then I heard her voice. "Are you kidding me?" she barked, "I dropped you off!"
Now it was my turn to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, "Well, come and get me then."
She retorted, "I will, as soon as I convince this cop that I didn't steal your d@#n car!"
"Welcome to the Golden Years"
MY DOCTOR ASKED IF ANYONE IN MY FAMILY WAS SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS. I SAID; "NO, WE ALL SEEM TO ENJOY IT"

[Jim_PTC_GA]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds humor in memory problems, it one of the ways I cope with mine.

I have cognative damage due to LYME disease. The first few years were the hardest. There was allot of anger and confusion. Now 10 years in I have found coping methods that help me. I use allot of sticky notes and paper with tape. Working on my Ts has been a real challenge. It got to the point where every time I stopped for the day I had to write up where I was at and what i was doing for the stranger who would come in tommorow to take over. I'm the stranger and each morning i would come into the shop and not know what was done and where they were going with the work. I'd have to read the notes left behind and figure out if it was done right and if to continue with the work. There has been allot of 2 step back 1 step forward days.

I'm luck that I have a wife who not only supports me in my T restoration endeavors but pushes me every day to do more than the day before. The years have been difficult as there is no cure and the damage progresses. If it weren't for the T forum I would have given up years ago on these restorations.

Thank you all

Jim

[Scott_Conger]

Jim

my hat's off to you in your efforts to move forward on your projects. That's an inspiring story of perserverence on your part and courageous support on your wife's part.

[Wayne Sheldon]

Jim in Peach Tree City, I have read of your issues before, and do not mind however often you repeat it. That is a tough path you take, I am pleased that you continue and thankful that you have a supportive spouse. Keep restoring (I know of no better therapy than recreating something from chaos), and keep posting (write yourself a note!).

Wayne Sheldon (from the other Peaches capitol of the country, Califunny's central valley!)

[Steve Jelf]

I would worry that my forgetfulness is a sign of age, but I've always been this way.

[Rich Eagle]

While memory deterioration is a real problem we all have or will have some. Taking it lightly and seeing humor in it won't cure it but should relieve some of the stress that may come with it. Sharing our moments is helpful in realizing it is normal and we are not alone. As I have said before, it is a cheap form of entertainment.
This is a great thread for most of us.
Rich

[vech]

A dear friend of mine, (who passed away several years ago) who owned a small machine shop, had a sign on the wall, that said "An organized person is one that is TOO LAZY to look for things" I never forgot that sign....