Aselin

Recently I got an unsettling e-mail making me further question my sanity.

The e-mail posed questions to ask yourself... If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, speak to your doctor about getting a neurological evaluation.

Have you ever gotten lost when you drive home?

Define “lost”. If this means I have driven past my street while yelling/lecturing my kids about not leaving half eaten burritos in the back seat then my answer is yes. If it also means sitting blocks away from my house listening to the radio because it’s the only adult conversation I’ll have for the afternoon, then my answer again is yes. If a possible definition is wandering around the parking lot clicking my key fob hoping my cookie-cutter mini van will honk at me to let me know it’s not been stolen, then again, yes.

Have you forgotten being at major appointments or events? Forgetting names of people you met at a recent party is not cause for concern, but forgetting that you attended the party could signal a possible memory problem.

This one is tricky. I’ve endured a number of social events so painful that the only mental survival strategy I could employ was to block them out. For instance, we have photos of an office party where my husband was dressed in a skin-tight tye-dye polyester jumpsuit complete with a giant afro wig. Were it not for the photos I would not recollect his very public karaoke performance of “You Light Up My Life.” Then there’s my senior prom. Sitting all dressed up waiting for my date to arrive I answered the phone to discover that “his mom wouldn’t let him go”. I’ve been dumped, ignored, even stood up before, but this one was pretty bad. I’ve tried to block all of it out.

Has anyone around you complained that you tend to repeat the same questions four or five times?

Well duh. I’m a mom.

Have you stopped any of your hobbies or routines because of memory problems?

Does forgetting to clean out the fridge count? This should be a routine, and once was, but as I have aged so have the items in my fridge. This question really asks the definition of hobby. B.C. (before children) I would have considered showering a necessity, but now there are days it falls clearly in the hobby activity category and I’ve become quite nostalgic for the good 'ole days of general hygiene. The same goes for finishing a book. In the rare instance I am left alone long enough to read the side of a cereal box I consider getting through all four sides a major achievement.

Finally,
Have you reduced your work responsibilities or hours mainly due to poor memory?

If only!