I know it's in the house somewhere... (best, older, opinions)
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I have been nearsighted practically all my life. I have never had trouble keeping track of my glasses until these last couple of years. I spend a couple of hours every week looking for them. The last two searches found them in my walk in closet,
Are they prescription or reading glasses? I solved the latter by having 5 pairs in various locations around the house. The worst is when they are on top of my head when I'm looking for them, lol.
Prescription would be tough, as then you can't see to look for them. Once in a while I have to help DH with that, but he wears them all day 'til bed, so not tending to lose them.
In 2010, I was not very aware of smart phones and found one on the beach. I just handed it to the nearest group of people who looked amazed, and belatedly I realized it was not theirs. Should have taken it to the police station but what did I know.
Haha this reminded me that 2 years ago before Christmas I was using the automated postage machine in Post Office lobby and saw an IPhone left from previous user. After I got done I walked to desk and handed it to PO clerk and said where I found it. Her face looked amazed.
I have always trusted P.O. people, librarians, teachers, the "helpers" I'm sure it got to the owner.
My comments have nothing to do with "superiority". If you go through life in a fog and are losing keys, eyeglasses, socks, and more, then that is something which needs to be dealt with. At a minimum it is something to discuss with you PC physician. Again I see nothing cute or funny about these stories. In fact there is a serious downside. It only reinforces the stereotype that older people are all forgetful at best and likely to be senile. Hence our ideas and opinions are discounted and people can talk right past us instead.
Being aware and having some intelligence is not a sign of superiority. It is what we should all strive for and if we fall short it is time to look for the reasons and corrective actions.
Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. As people get older, changes occur in all parts of the body, including the brain. As a result, some people may notice that it takes longer to learn new things, they don't remember information as well as they did, or they lose things like their glasses. These usually are signs of mild forgetfulness, not serious memory problems, like Alzheimer's disease.
If you go through life in a fog and are losing keys, eyeglasses, socks, and more, then that is something which needs to be dealt with. At a minimum it is something to discuss with you PC physician. Again I see nothing cute or funny about these stories. In fact there is a serious downside. It only reinforces the stereotype that older people are all forgetful at best and likely to be senile. Hence our ideas and opinions are discounted and people can talk right past us instead.
Being aware and having some intelligence is not a sign of superiority.
I think most of us get the whole *Being Mindful* thing, but the purport of that practice is not really about avoiding misplacing our stuff.
As for being forgetful, people of all ages can be disorganized ---- and that can also lead to losing things.
But again, none of that has anything to do with anyone's *intelligence*. Nor this topic.
I think most of us know, or our family and friends know, what the true warning signs of "losing it" are, and when to see a doctor.
I sure as heck can't multi-task at the high level I used to be able to do........and that doesn't worry me at all. I think that is normal aging for some of us. For others maybe something else, like not being able to drive on big expressways w/out anxiety, etc. It's not at all abnormal to notice that some of our previous "super powers" have waned as we age.
This was meant to be a light hearted topic or at least that is how I am reading most of the sharing going on here. And the whole "aging ain't for sissies" is, in and of itself, kinda bittersweet but also has it's comedic moments as well.
I don't worry about any of that stereotyping us, anymore than I would worry about someone using the expression of "terrible two's" to describe their toddlers at certain age mileposts.
That doesn't mean there aren't people who treat older people with a wave of the hand, it just means you shouldn't choose to be around people like that, nor let them diminish your confidence or self image when they ignorantly do so.......and you certainly don't want any doctors like that, either.
I think most of us know, or our family and friends know, what the true warning signs of "losing it" are, and when to see a doctor.
I don't worry about any of that stereotyping us, anymore than I would worry about someone using the expression of "terrible two's" to describe their toddlers at certain age mileposts.
That doesn't mean there aren't people who treat older people with a wave of the hand, it just means you shouldn't choose to be around people like that, nor let them diminish your confidence or self image when they ignorantly do so.......and you certainly don't want any doctors like that, either.
I disagree with both of the ideas above.
First, it is by no means clear what is some normal "forgetfulness" and when those behaviors indicate something more severe. Look at the article cited by Tuborg and you will see there is a gradient and even for the supposed normal forgetfulness, doctors recommend remediation in the form of some sort of brain exercises. I have seen plenty of older people who start to lose it, often they are good at covering, and then the decline can be rapid. In some cases the decline could have been at least delayed.
Sadly, forgetfulness and other aspects of senile dementia are well established stereotypes. My newspaper carries the comic strip, "Pickles". It is a series of jokes about seniors who do not hear, lose their glasses while wearing them, etc. Doctors are not immune to this either. In case you have not noticed, they are likely to talk down to anyone who is well into retirement age. Regardless of the doctor, I find it essential to be assertive, ask questions and push for more information.
There is a dimension out there somewhere that holds all this missing stuff. What a mess it must be! It's got underwear, socks, dishes, your favorite kitchen utensil, the missing part that you need if you're going to assemble something, bits of jewelry, your favorite lap blanket, that special tool that you cherished---they're all in there having fun.
Somebody creative could paint a picture of this place or write a poem about it. It's such a weird place that every once in a while something missing emerges from it. But that occurrence is rare.
Gee, if I could find that place I could go get my red bowl back. Just in time too because the magenta bowl I bought to replace it is cracking at the bottom.
Or maybe I could make a trade with those gremlins, somehow.
What I can't understand is how two cookie sheets that I've had for years, suddenly disappeared. It's been more than six months now. I kept them in the drawer in the bottom of the stove.
We only used it for heating up a pizza or fish sticks or a few times I made dog biscuits on it. I hadn't made cookies on it for a long time. Looked on Amazon and I don't even see nice stainless steel cookie sheets like the ones that ran away. There were similar (maybe) ones but they were $30 each--ouch. How can you lose a cookie sheet? Two cookie sheets? They have to be in the kitchen but they aren't.
Pull out the drawer and make sure they didn't get pushed out the back and fall underneath.
EDIT: just now saw your post finding them.
Last edited by Straitlover; 11-07-2021 at 06:27 AM..
I think most of us get the whole *Being Mindful* thing, but the purport of that practice is not really about avoiding misplacing our stuff.
As for being forgetful, people of all ages can be disorganized ---- and that can also lead to losing things.
But again, none of that has anything to do with anyone's *intelligence*. Nor this topic.
I think most of us know, or our family and friends know, what the true warning signs of "losing it" are, and when to see a doctor.
I sure as heck can't multi-task at the high level I used to be able to do........and that doesn't worry me at all. I think that is normal aging for some of us. For others maybe something else, like not being able to drive on big expressways w/out anxiety, etc. It's not at all abnormal to notice that some of our previous "super powers" have waned as we age.
This was meant to be a light hearted topic or at least that is how I am reading most of the sharing going on here. And the whole "aging ain't for sissies" is, in and of itself, kinda bittersweet but also has it's comedic moments as well.
I don't worry about any of that stereotyping us, anymore than I would worry about someone using the expression of "terrible two's" to describe their toddlers at certain age mileposts.
That doesn't mean there aren't people who treat older people with a wave of the hand, it just means you shouldn't choose to be around people like that, nor let them diminish your confidence or self image when they ignorantly do so.......and you certainly don't want any doctors like that, either.
I thought light heartedness ( and much tongue in cheek) was the purpose of this thread. We all know the reality of diminishing
capacities- featuring forgetfulness- that often ( but not always) accompanies advancing age. Heck, we joke about it among our elderly peers. As I see it, joking about it is one way of dealing with it, acknowledging the reality. Many of us, myself included, realizing we don't remember things as well as we once did, make adjustments to help us do that, could be lists, mental associations with something else, mental exercises to help keep our brains "sharpened" that sort of thing, and I think all those things help. And keeping our senses of humor intact, honing them by finding the funny, the irony, incongruity, the ridiculous in the everyday things around us, and our own interactions with those things, I think can go a long way in maintaining our mental acuity.
And as I see it, the light-heartedness that accompanies a well- practiced sense of humor certainly does wonders on helping a person cope with the realities of our crazy world, and that perspective helps keep us strong.
That said, I'm all too familiar with the phenomenon of the youngsters around us old folks who talk down to us "elderlies" as though they just know that none of us can hear, see very well, couldn't possibly understand anything going on around us, and won't remember anything we heard in any case. I've even seen sweet young things change their tones and manner to that of addressing a slightly confused and anxious two year old when they turn to me ( and most likely any older person) after talking normally to someone else. The condescension would drive me up a wall if I weren't looking at it with a perspective from my sense of humor, and if I didn't realize they meant no disrespect. Generally I ignore the tone of those encounters and go on with my day.
As you say, no point in letting such encounters erode your self-confidence, you know you and you know that individual who just addressed you like a 2 yr old with a droopy diaper has done so just as a knee-jerk reaction to seeing an older person- so it's that person's issue not yours.
I've also noticed the tendency for some people, especially doctors, other health care providers, though I've seen salespeople as well, when an older patient, client, customer is accompanied by a younger person, these people will address the younger person as though they assume the older patient, etc.. couldn't possibly understand, and won't remember anything if it's said directly to them. I noticed it when I accompanied my mother to doctor appointments, for hospital discharge instructions, even salespeople in stores when she was looking for specific items. THAT drives me up a wall, and I always directed the person to talk to my mother, not me, as she was the client, patient, and understood everything as well as I did.
Now I've noticed the same tendency towards me, when I'm accompanied by my daughter, I've had folks address her when it should be me. But at those times, both my daughter and I have reminded these people to address me.
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