Prevagen Helps My Memory

Yes, when I was younger, I heard the stories about becoming forgetful with age. These usually came in the form of a joke, and we would laugh. I once thought jokes like these were funny.

A man and his wife are growing older, and the doctor tells them their memory isn’t that great. He tells them they should start writing things down to remember better. At home, the wife asks for a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. She tells her husband to write it down, to which he responds that he can remember. She then asks for crushed nuts on top, and again insists that he should write it down. The husband, again, says he can remember. The wife then asks for a cherry on top, and **insists** the husband writes it down. The husband says “No, I’ll remember. Ice cream with whipped cream, crushed nuts, and a cherry.” The wife says “Ok” and the husband goes to get her ice cream. A few minutes later, he appears from the kitchen with scrambled eggs and bacon. The wife looks at the plate in disbelief before asking “Where’s the toast?”

Ok, I still think they are funny, but lately I understand them on a different level. Simple events cause worry; my memory is slipping. I find myself laughing with the family at something I did. They think it is funny when I walk in a room and ask, “What did I come in her for?” They laughed when I forgot to close the windows in the car before driving through the car wash.

My daughter even went so far as to mislead me when I couldn’t remember where I parked the car during a shopping trip to the mall. They received great pleasure telling me to exit out the door to Macy’s when, in fact, I had parked outside Kohls. I suppose it was April Fools come early. It wasn’t so bad because while I searched the parking lot, several other older women were also clicking the emergency button on the remote to make the horn sound. They eventually walked towards the sound to locate their car.

I caught on quickly that something was wrong when my horn didn’t sound. Thankfully, my daughter didn’t leave me wandering too long, just long enough to make us all laugh. I didn’t get mad, but I did write them out of the will.

Don’t get me wrong, I can laugh at myself.

When I tripped and fell, I wrote a story about the incident. Clumsy behavior is funny; that’s why we enjoy Funniest Home Videos.

When I steam-ironed my shirt while wearing it and inflicted bodily harm, I laughed at my own stupidity. Heck, we all make mistakes.

When I forgot my husband’s birthday, I explained it away because it had been a busy workweek. But lately my memory loss seems different, more personal.

I am at the age where I call the grandkids by the dog’s name and my children are called whatever is within eyesight at the time. The moments when I must think quickly are my senior moments. My brain works slower than it once did, a fact I can accept because my entire body moves slower. However, when I discover I forgot to turn off the stove, open the garage door before backing out, or leave the car idling after I exit it, my heart beats faster.

I still remember the day my father stopped driving. He hung his car keys on the hook and never drove again. He understood the possible harm he could cause due to his slow reactions and foggy mind. The truck sat in the yard like a trophy from winning the game of life. Every couple weeks, he washed and waxed it but never drove it onto the street.

I suppose age happens to us all and all we can do is make arrangements to approach life differently. For now, I will continue to take Prevagen — when I remember and plan for the future. Actually, it won’t be too bad. In fact, I am creating a list of reasons to appreciate memory loss to soften the blow.

• If I don’t drive, there will be no car insurance costs.
• When I don’t own a car, the garage will be available for crafts.
• The house will not burn down if I eat out and socialize with friends.
• And if I forget to take my Prevagen, I’ll have more money for wine. It’s a win-win.

Aging isn’t so bad. With age comes wisdom. Retirement is awesome! Embrace memory loss for there is less to worry about and finally we can live one day at a time — that’s all we can remember.