Thursday, March 8, 2012

So, I'm Going To Be Okay

About two summers ago, after I followed a smell in my kitchen that led me to some ground turkey meat I must have set out to defrost days ago -- in the cabinets with the dishes, and after I opened the freezer and found a bag of fingerling potatoes next to the lemon sorbet, and after I found the bananas I had been looking for since the weekend sitting next to the shoes in the backroom, I quietly and without much of a fight, accepted the fact that I must have early onset dementia.

I'm not joking or making light about those with this condition. I really believed it, accepted it, and went on with my days; always being sure to have a little church pew pencil and mini notebook in my back pocket to write things down; important things, like who was at soccer until what time and at what park. Things that matter, like that.

I knew it was early onset dementia, my kids knew I had it, and my husband shared the diagnosis along with me. Just a fact of life, we learned to deal with it.

Until last week Sunday afternoon, when my oldest son was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, and he happily cried out as if he just saw winning lottery numbers, Mom! Dad! You guys don't have Alzheimer's!

My husband opened his eyes from his spot on the floor in front of the fireplace where he'd been taking his 2 o'clock nap, I looked up from my new book Cooking Light and Feelin' Good, and together we shouted We don't?

No! You don't! He filled us in. It says here, you're normal! If you forget your keys, that's normal. If you forget your car, and walk home, that's not. More good stuff like this follows. If you can't remember your friend's name from high school, that's normal; if you can't remember your kid's name, that's not.

My husband and I looked at each other and grinned. We're normal!

Turns out we are just over worked, under rested, maxed out, life engulfed, sleep deprived, inadequately exercised, middle aged working parents. The clinical term is Normal Aged Forgetfulness.

We're okay.

Isn't that great?

I want to share this sense of relief with you. The article gave some more examples of what's normal versus what needs to be examined. Here, for you, nuggets of reassuring good news:

To lose car keys, normal. To lose a car, not.

To forget your childhood address, normal. To forget current address, not.

Forgetting names or appointments, normal. Forgetting your spouse's name, not.

Forgetting why you walked into a room, normal. Forgetting where your room is in your house, not.

Forgetting the names of things occasionally, normal. Forgetting the name of a toothbrush while you hold it in your hand, not.

Forgetting where you're going while you're driving, normal. Forgetting where your house is on your block, not.

Wearing clothes for days in a row without changing, not normal. Yoga pants Monday till Wednesday, totally fine.

Unable to manage household finances any longer, not normal. Kind of putting a dent in the credit card during Anthropologie's Winter Clearance Sweater Sale, clearly normal.

Wearing your black cardigan inside out for a full day, normal. Wearing your bra backwards for even one minute, not normal.

Talking to yourself, so normal. Yelling at yourself to answer back, not.

Occasionally blanking out on what your phone number is, normal. Forgetting what a number is, not.

Putting potatoes in the freezer, normal. Putting your watch in the sugarbowl, not. (Okay, I made that one up.)

Getting upset that Jim Halpert let that temp-tress Kathy in his room with only her underwear on, normal. Actually writing a letter to Jim Halpert reminding him of what it took to get Pam, still normal.

Good news, people. We're all going to be okay.

_________________________________________________

56 comments:

  1. Okay, whew... hubby may be normal... I still only qualify as semi-normal.

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  2. The name Jim Halpert only rang a distant bell so I began to worry about my own memory, sadly I had to google the name and all was revealed.
    I am a fan of The Office but still remain true to the original English series, you should make a note of seeing it, literally, write a note.
    X David

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  3. You have no idea how relieved I am to read this. I"m guessing, picking up the phone to call someone then forgetting who, is normal. Picking up phone and wondering what it is, not normal. Right?

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  4. I love this. I fail at one though- sometimes I'm looking at an object and can't remember its name. BUT. I have four kids, and one of them is 15 months and nursing and not sleeping all night, and I work full time and write at night. So can I get a pass??? Please? Ask your son what he thinks.

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  5. I started to read this but then wandered away and now I can't remember why I'm back.

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  6. Your son's excitement is hilarious.

    Somewhere I recently read a post that adults need bedtimes too- before midnight. The writer listed all kinds of amazing benefits like 'energy' and 'a positive attitude' so I've been forcing myself to abandon try it. After years of chronic insomnia and a sand-filled head every day, let me report that I've been sleeping eight or almost eight hours a night for a few weeks and feel like a different person.

    Also, highly recommended an herbal remedy called 'Clear Mind' from Ameriden. In the recent past (before Clear Mind) even if I got an idea of what I'd forgotten, there was never that satisfying aha moment that I'd remembered the missing _____.

    Thanks for all the good news.

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  7. Hey empress, please don't worry. You have company in the alzheimer's parade. My daughters names are "hey you", "that one", and "whatever your name is". My wife has six nicknames, one of which is really sexy and I draw a blank when i look at her. I have six notebooks, a datebook, and two hands that i write things on and at least one thing a day is forgotten. I'm 41 with the memory of a 75 year old former heavyweight boxer.

    where did i put my glasses...damn it they're on my head aren;t they?

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  8. You had me howling at the end! Fun! And thanks for the reassurance!

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  9. whew i was starting to worry...going to turn my bra around now too...oh wait...

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  10. I thought bananas were supposed to go by the shoes.

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  11. Oh thank goodness.

    And if you're looking for the coffee? It's in the microwave.

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  12. So what I left the eggs in the freezer? This just proves the stressed brain (and what middle aged parent is not a stressed brain?) is a semi-functioning one. Thank you for reminding me that I'm okay, you're okay, and not to see pathology in that I forgot to put my son's show and tell dinosaur in his backpack.

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  13. My mother has early Alzheimer's. She is just 65. We have been living with this knowledge for at least 5 years, and probably more years before the official diagnosis. As I understand it, there are 7 stages of Alzheimer's. My mother is in stage 5. Back when my mother was younger, possibly the same age I am now, she started doing those things. Misplacing her wallet, only to find it in the freezer. Looking for a book she was reading to find it in the linen closet. We used to just chuckle and chalk it up to general nuttiness. It was a quirk we lived with. But I believe that those were early signs now that I am looking back. I am completely with you on the maxed out, sleep deprived, million different directions middle aged parent syndrome. But I would still pay attention to those signs. I know that I have to be more mindful of them myself since it could be me in 20 years where my mother is today. And take all the time I can now to know my mother before she doesn't know me.

    Thanks for sharing this, Alexandra.
    Enjoy the day.
    Erin

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  14. Well crud, now I have no excuses do I??? That explains why I can't find the ginger I brought in from the store last week though. I'll have to go look in the mudroom or where I put my keys.....

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  15. This whole post cracked me up because it is so very like what my life is like right now. I know that at my age blah blah and with all the technology we have, life moves faster, but sometimes just can't remember things I think I should. And stuff ends up in the wrong places. And stuff. And I forget what I'm doing in the middl

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  16. Totally relieved. Totally. What a good son you have. Thank him for bringing this to light. You do have a son right? Or was that a daughter, or did the dog bring the paper over? Damn I'm going to have to read your post again. But totally relieved regardless.
    Dana

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  17. So bra backward is not normal...What about wearing your thong underwear backwards...twice? Because that may or may not have happened to...er, someone I know. Very well.

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  18. I didn't need permission for the yoga pants...also, my 10 year old already forgets why he leaves a room sometimes, I've been doing it for many years. (age affected attention disorder - the older we get the worse it gets?)

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  19. I love this! The acronym is kind of weird...NAF. "Sorry I forgot my wallet, I have NAF!" Sounds kind of weird and exotic.

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    Replies
    1. NAF. Perfect. What I will be calling this from now on. Please excuse my NAF.

      WSJ proven NAF.

      xo

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  20. Whew. So standing at a green light without noticing that it's green is okay? Forgetting your phone number for a moment while leaving a voicemail - what about that one?

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  21. Oh shoot - I'm not on that season of the office yet. Don't tell me!

    So glad you're normal. And I like how your list degraded little by little.

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  22. It sounds like I don't have it either.

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  23. Oh my gawd, that was hilarious! Although with my fibromyalgia I do forget whatit is I'm holding when I am holding a toothbrush..I know what it is..give me a second...oh yes a TOOTHBRUSH. Whew!!!!

    Between the fertility meds, the raising of twins , my chaotic life I remember very little..but it nice to know I am normal. LOL. Sort of.

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  24. This is timely for me. I left my cell phone at the mall this past weekend and had to drive back to get it. Then I left my cell phone at the gym yesterday morning and had to drive back to get it. I thought I was losing my mind, but your post here says I'm just busy.

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    Replies
    1. Breathe a sigh of relief, pretty lady...we're just machines that don't get enough sleep.

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  25. Love this list!!!!

    Just to make sure though:
    Having crush on Eminem: Normal. Expecting him to respond to your love letters, incessant emails and phone calls: also Normal.

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    Replies
    1. Anything at all, ANYTHING, that has to do with Eminem: ALWAYS NORMAL.

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  26. Whew. I was worried. Now what I'm supposed to think of these hot flashes? Early on set menopause at 27?

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  27. The ONLY way to shop Anthro is clearance!

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  28. So I guess coming home from work and putting on the same old pair of sweatpants 5 days in a row is ok! LOL! A very enjoyable post!
    Lisa Weinstein
    www.lisagradessweinstein.blogspot.com

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  29. So glad talking to myself is normal. I'll just yell that back to my 7 year old when he yells at me from the other room, "Are you talking to yourself?"

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  30. Did the article say what to do when the reflection in the mirror talks back to you? Maybe we ought to let that rest, I am not sure that I want to know. ;)

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  31. Sliding across the kitchen floor in your socks as a full-grown adult: normal? =P

    Great post, it made me laugh!

    Sometimes I have conversations with myself as if I were two different people... XD

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  32. Love this!! And it definitely set the record straight once and for all! In my case I wear my yoga pants 5-6 days a week. I sometimes throw in a pair of jeans if I feel like I've been too sloppy.

    Though on a more serious note, I think you managed to help settle what can be secretly worrisome and nagging doubts...I really have teetered on the boundaries of "am I crazy"...so I am not kidding when I say that this has really helped to settle things. As always it is comforting to come here and know I am not alone :-)

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  33. So yesterday, I spent 5 minutes trying to open the front door to my house with my electronic car key. The fact that my car was sat in the driveway behind me, lights flashing and the unmistakeable clicking noise as it locked and unlocked, did little to sway me.

    I should be worried, right?

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    Replies
    1. I have more than once tried to use my keys on the subway turnstile and to swipe my way into my apartment with my metrocard so I'm going to assume that we're both fine.

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  34. I love this and I love you.

    So glad I also don't have early onset dementia. I can't even tell you how many times I walk into rooms and forget why I'm there.

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  35. I'm so glad you included that last one....because now I know that not only am I normal, I'm also not alone.

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  36. So if i said yes or sometimes to some or all of the above, I may have a problem?
    Damn.
    Are PJ's an acceptable form of yoga pants?

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  37. I can't remember if I did some of the not-normal things recently, but I'm just going to pretend that I haven't because that will make me feel better.

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  38. Now that you mentioned the words Anthropologie and clearance in the same sentence, I've completely forgotten anything I was about to write here. Is that normal?

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  39. These scares can be valuable, can't they? Major perspective gaining opportunities. Glad you had a happy ending - great post!

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  40. Nicely told!

    I gave you one of my weekly Goddess Awards if you're interested for your sidebar.

    In joy,
    Elise

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  41. Oh, this makes me feel so much better!

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  42. Gasp! I know! With the Jim Halpert thing! I couldn't believe he did that.
    Great, funny post.

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  43. OMG. I forgot to name my toothbrush. I'm so screwed.

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  44. I'm relieved to read the list of normal. Because there are days when I wonder if I should be reserving a room in the local memory care center...

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  45. You would be amazed at WHAT is in my sugar bowl! LOL - that's where I hide the change (since I'm not supposed to have sugar - only in my Starbucks!!(just joking).

    I was seriously concerned about this for awhile. I was totally exhausted. I was applying for jobs I was concerned I wouldn't be able to function at. I wouldn't even think of teaching college comp - because focusing had become sooooo hard. I'll omit the LONG story - but a son was experiencing a zinc deficiency - a sluggish brain was part of it. I started taking zinc + an additional vitamin - and my life has changed. I can't remember the last time I could function all.day.long - with extra to spare. I started a new job that where my training is months ahead of schedule.

    I am so glad I don't have dementia - I love your list - it so made me laugh at myself and provided a bit of relief! You NEVER cease to make my day brighter!

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  46. *sigh of relief* LOL.

    Btw, have you seen this article in Wired? It talked about a new (correct?) way of looking at memories and actually posited that eye witnesses are NEVER reliable.

    http://www.wired.com/magazine/2012/02/ff_forgettingpill

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  47. On more than a few of those, I am riding the crest of the wave separating normal from not. Just reporting here, where things are dated, in case I'm asked when things started going funky in the brain-al department.

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  48. OMG, I'm completely normal! I never thought I'd say that.

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  49. Are you SURE that putting your bra on backwards is not normal??

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  50. (Switching bra from back to front now...)

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