I remember when remembering was not a problem for me.  In fact, I had a fabulous memory.  I could remember names, faces, dates, relationships, telephone numbers, organizations and what they did.  I remembered when I did something, how often I did it and when I would do it again.  I remembered my appointments and my family member’s appointments, along with the time and place and how long it would take to get there and picture in my mind what was the best route to take on a given day.

I was an asset on committees where I could come up with names of people and resources as they were needed.  Of all the things I could remember, it was remembering people and their names that mattered the most.  It’s a universal concept, that being remembered by name produces a good feeling because almost everyone wants to be remembered.

The day my son died in an auto accident, it was as if a bomb went off in my brain.  Fragments of memories were strewn in every direction causing me to forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence.   My grief counselor, who had lost her daughter in an auto accident at about the same age as my son helped me to understand what was happening to me by comparing it to a bomb.  This did make me feel less like it was something I could help.  Things came back to me with time, but never even close to the memory I once had.  But at least I had a functioning memory once again.

Now, my memory loss has other origins.  One of these reasons is the fact that not only do I have too much information floating around in my head, but that so much of it is useless.  If only we could defrag our brains . . .

Another reason I have given was my changing hormones when I went through menopause. There is actually a lot of documentation regarding the loss of estrogen and its effect on memory loss.  And now aging has contributed greatly to this affliction I am experiencing.

Everyday, my husband and I do crossword puzzles together.  This is reputed to help memory.  I read and try to do healthy things, like get enough rest, exercise and eat right as they are suggested as important factors on a number websites I have checked out.

Regardless, we all will experience some memory loss in our lives.  After we do all the right things to help ourselves, the rest is out of our control.  Perhaps the good news is that as our memories fade, we will realize it less and less.  As for me, the main thing I want to remember to do,  is to keep smiling and be loving.  That way, if you are pleasant enough to be around, people will help you with the things that you are no longer able to remember to do.  They will do this because you remembered to be kind.  And kindness is never forgotten.