Drawing a _________

Have you ever watched someone walking toward you with a delighted smile on their face (after all, who wouldn’t be glad to see you?) and while you are certain you know them, you experience a sense of dread because their name eludes you? Or, have you been in the middle of describing something, and the one word that brings the whole story together remains on the tip of your tongue (TOT)? Of course you have. It doesn’t matter if you are seventeen or seventy. Those are common experiences.

My problem is that that’s indeed what they are: common experiences. Until I was forty, I was great at names and faces, then, suddenly it seemed those brain cells died. I gave up trying and just keep apologizing with the pat phrase, “Sorry, I’m terrible at names.” When it comes to the TOT times, I try to not be one of those who jokes, “Must be early Alzheimer’s” for that is no joking matter.  Once you reach a certain age, every time the next word isn’t right there, there is a moment of panic.

While a certain amount of forgetfulness might be a result of age, mostly I think it comes from the stresses and stressors in our lives. We move at such a fast pace, and are usually multitasking, so our brains have a hard time being the in the moment at the moment we need a certain something, be it a name or a word. I find that a comfort. Unfortunately our hearts are racing at the same pace. I think we’re getting worn out, so it’s no wonder we can’t remember one thing in a conversation or one name of the hundreds (if not thousands) of people we've met.

It is Sunday as I write this. There used to be things like Sunday afternoon family drives and sitting on the Mayberry-like front porch greeting neighbors who walked by. We need to build up peaceful and calming moments like those in our lives and lessen the multi’s. I believe that in whatever life comes after this one, there will be all the time in the world to do things one at a time. Oh, and we will have name tags.

Marilyn