Moni, I went to Dunkin Donuts first, on the second trip back there after my exercise class, really not expecting it to be there. So, I didn't replace my purchase first. Wish I thought of going there at 9:00 on my first trip there.

Annie, your story tops mine for today. Funny I had a blood lab move too! I went to the usual building and there was another lab there, but not mine. They didn't know where mine moved to. It's a Quest, and they were not answering the phone. I went upstairs to a doctor's office thinking that they might know something and they did. Luckily, it moved just across the street.

I have also had my phone fall out of my bag numerous times.

Adellabella, one reason why I was so upset too was the thought of someone not being honest and just taking my bag. This bothered me more than actually losing the purchases.

Raven LOL.

Chisue, I do that too.

Junco, haha, I only checked back there five times! You would think I would get the hint the first time I looked and it wasn't there.

What's really annoying is to look somewhere a hundred times, don't find it, a month later, looking for something else, there it is. Right in that spot I already looked a hundred times.

I have said it before and I just might possibly say it again, "This getting old is getting old!"

I worked on trying to find out if a medical provider was in network for several days beforehand and then forgot about the appointment when the time came.

I think we are moving thru a star studded field of chaos...hang on, there is more to come!

My neighbor sent me an email this morning, her husband got up and dressed and said he was going for his scheduled yearly medical exam. A short time later he returned home. His appointment was the 9th not the 6th. LOL

It's a downhill run from here folks!

Raven, I once did that too. But in my favor, it was only because my original appointment was reschedule on the part of the doctor. I somehow wrote in the new appointment on the wrong day. I was lucky in that they squeezed me in.

I do that often. Don't worry about it.

Also I left my keys locked in my running car - again - one day this week. Luckily I have a second set in my wallet but talk about embarrassing.

I go to the store and then blank out.

My biggest aging thing is not being able to think of a common word. For instance, I was trying to think of Idaho, a neighboring state, but I just drew a blank. It's when I stop thinking so hard that the word comes, but it's kind of scary. But DH had a really funny word substitution recently. We were at a restaurant and he needed another napkin. The waitress was behind the counter so he went over to her and asked if he could have another banana! He has no idea why banana popped out instead of napkin. There were no bananas in sight. We laughed so hard.

And of course, my brain checked out the other day. I was making chicken soup, went to the pantry, opened the container and proceeded to pour beef broth into the chicken soup! Oh well, it came out tasty anyway. I don't think you can kill soup.

Short term memory loss is a product of aging and, for women, it's worse as they are used to multi functioning and it's almost not possible after "a certain age". I used to be able to memorize a whole host of things to do for the day and now I write them all down and forget where I put the list. lol

I keep finding myself paying for my items then walking right out without my bags. Whats going on.........old age?

Mayflowers, DH had a similar one. We were at Lord and Taylor and we decided to go to the cafe for lunch. He asked if the lunchroom was open and then said "you know, the cafeteria?" We also had a good laugh about that one.

So, of course,now we have incorporated lunchroom in our repertoire.

He's regressed back to grade school!

Haha!

I thought I was losing it. Had my yard man cone and polish all my silver the week before Christmas. I distinctly remembered putting the silver polish back under the sink. Christmas afternoon when my DGS was here to help me with all the washing up, I opened the door to grab the polish - like to polish it again before putting it away. No jar of polish. Huh? Looked everywhere for that polish - thought maybe he'd left it in the basement where he was polishing - not there.

Then last night I was in the hall closet where I gave a cabinet for cleaning stuff. Noticed that the carrier was a mess - full of dirty miracle cloths. Got a trash bag to through out some nearly empty products and grabbed the carrier to take to the kitchen. There was my polish! No, I did NOT put it there - cleaning woman tried to do something "a bit extra" and took the polish from under the sink and didn't return it. I have no idea what she polished but I'm sure I'll find out and it will be a mess. Also found a jar of furniture polish and a rag covered in it. That probably explains why two small pieces were a sticky mess. Washed all the rags and straightened it all up.

Today, I told her she was to only vacuum, dust, clean bathrooms and kitchen floor and counters. Instead, she rearranged two bookcases and didn't dust any tables in my bedroom. This cannot go on but I cannot find anyone else.

So, it wasn't my age-addled brain that misplaced the danged silver polish!

JoAnn, I tend to do that very thing and usually at the Dollar General. I 'll drive all the way home sometimes and have only one of my two bags. Or as you say, go out to the car and remember my bag is still hanging on the bag rack in the store. The clerks are too busy to notice I guess.

I don't know when I have laughed so hard. It is wonderful to read that I am not alone in my forgetfulness. Yesterday I went to the grocery and didn't have my billfold with me. Thank goodness I had my charge card with me!! Things like this happens more often. Oh well!!

Then, there are the times that you head out of your neighborhood onto the main road, and sit for a minute because you don't exactly remember where you are going........

I seriously am glad to read this because it can become worrisome. My long term memory seems to be getting better but the short term is shot. I have trouble reading a book. I need to go back a page or two to remember where I am. But then I can spot a TV rerun that I've seen maybe a few years ago. I hate looking for a common word and never remembering until much later.

The other day I was at the pet store, bought one thing and just walked away leaving the bag on the counter that was right in front of me. Talk about feeling stupid! UGH! Thank goodness the cashier wasn't busy and reminded me. I suppose it would have dawned on me that I didn't have my bag. I was distracted and looking at my dog sitting in the car watching for me, I could see her from the check out line. She's so funny how she watches so intensely, not taking her eyes off the door.

Yes, the short term memory is sometimes shot. Drives me crazy how I can do something and have almost no memory of doing it.

I think we need to be more mindful. In my case, in the back of my mind I knew I should have taken the extra time to return to my car with my package, realizing that my memory is just not the same.

I agree that it is difficult to multitask. I think I am going to be mindful and in the moment of each activity.

I now use a purse with the "wallet" part built into the zippered part on the front of the purse so I can't leave my wallet behind...though I could always forget the whole purse!

My old boss used to talk about compensating errors when teaching statistics. He used the example of the time he came out of the store, went to open the car and saw the front door was locked and the keys were in the ignition. The compensating error...the back door was unlocked!

How often have I left a restaurant, leaving my carry-home box on the table? I've taken to handing it to DH when they bring it to me.

Several times recently, I've been driving and realized that I am following my usual path, but it isn't where I wanted to go! I knew I needed to turn left to go to M's house, but out of habit and lack of paying attention, I went on my merry way until I was about two miles in the wrong direction. Aggghh!

Aok, I know! What age do you think this all starts?

30 . I've been leaving my dinners behind for years. :)

I've sometimes realized I know where I'm going but on the way there the middle part of my trip is totally gone from my mind , and not talking about great long distance trips. It does come to me after a while, but once had my grandaughter and friends wonder ..why are we going this way ? I do think most of us are juggling many things in our lives..

Aok27502, I've done that many times ...get on a familiar road and autopilot takes over .

Fifteen years ago I was toting around a huge, heavy bag of material samples and brochures of hardware. (We were were building a new house, a year-long process of actual construction.) I didn't think twice about it. I had half a dozen house-related stops and many decisions to make every day -- and I was still keeping our lives running. We closed on our longtime home; moved to a temporary apartment; monitored new house progress. There was stress, but I could DO it all! (I did have both hips replaced four and six years after we moved in.)

As I approached 70, I noted a decline in stamina and now, at 75, an accelerating decline in mental acuity. I also see this in my DH (78) -- the first *visible* change in his appearance only in the last two years.

When did we become 'elderly'? I'm going to say early seventies. What astounds me is that we never thought about BEING old. We failed to apply the obvious to ourselves, despite seeing it all around us -- in 'other people'.

I'm adding that I think we are now living in less physically challenging times, but more mentally complicated times. DH and I spent two hours -- partly on the phone -- trying to get the Internet, TV and BluRay working here at the condo on arrival. (Internet provider had altered the password by one letter; cleaner had disconnected the power cord on the back of the TV; the BluRay connection to the TV was incorrect.) We are also all constantly distracted by 24/7 connection to the whole darn world, and one electrical outage away from being disconnected from our personal worlds.

Oh my gosh, I am so thankful to read these posts! I also do some forgetful things and had convinced myself that I was getting dementia! I read a stupid ad on Facebook and it "assured" me that I was correct. It is the worst fear I have because my mother had ALZ for many years and it was so hard on her and the family. I just turned 75.

Recent medical view that has arisen is that it isn't in fact normal for people to fall apart with age, that many are not getting adequate nutrition. For instance in one of the TV segments with the bald brain doctor (maybe Amen - I can't, of course remember exactly!) that PBS has shown in my market for some time he pushes B12 for brain health, says it even helps Alzheimer's patients.

In my experience, I don't worry about forgetfulness as a sign of dementia. That really came about in spades in my MIL when she started wandering the halls looking for breakfast at 10:30 at night. So until I start wandering around and getting confused as to place and time, I'm ok.

Yes, and as they say, it's okay to misplace your keys, it's when you find them in the refrigerator that you should worry.

Can I be any more forgetful?

Yes. You could have forgotten that you went to Dunkin Donuts. You were able to retrace yesterday's sojourn. That's got to count for something.

Thank you jemdandy! ;)

eld the keys in the fridge crack me up....when I eat out with a friend and have a doggie bag, I often put it in her fridge with the car keys as that way I know I can't leave without remembering the food too.

I left my car keys in the fridge ages ago -- when I was *young*. I'd looked all over the house for them and finally took the spare set to meet DH's commuter train. I found the keys when I started making dinner. I'd set them down to wedge a heavy gallon of milk onto a shelf after shopping that morning. I've never done it again...yet.

My sister turned 60 a few weeks ago. She said she saw a t-shirt that she wanted. It said "I always thought getting old would take longer."

:P

We bought a brand new car a few months ago, and I picked red so I could find it in the parking lot. First red car we ever had and it turns out everyone else had the same thought . Husband was struggling to open the Subaru last night when I asked why our Dachshund magnet wasn't there. Yep, not our car.

Just a few minutes ago I jumped up out of my chair, exclaiming to the cat that I hadn't checked the mailbox yet today and it's near 4pm. So I bundle up and trek out to the box................it's Sunday. :(

Yeah there have been a few times where I've tried to use my work badge on the buttons on the elevator. lol I'm only 34 :..( lol My husband is pretty forgetful too. I tell him we should just check ourselves into a home already haha

None of this stuff has ever happened to me. HA! I'm totally kidding. It happens all the freaking time. Today is the second day in a week that I don't have my phone. I'm sure it's in the floor of the car. sigh

Rob, when I was younger, I could also be forgetful. I think though, as we age it becomes a different type of forgetful.

In your case, you are a busy working mom with lots on your plate. So, it's understandable with all the juggling that you are doing.

I don't work full time and no longer have children at home to think about. For whatever reason, it has become much harder to multi task as this is when I think the danger of forgetting comes in.

I think that as we age we need to be mindful of doing things one at a time.

You're sweet

Even crazier, last night I was throwing away a piece of trash and I reached under the sink where the trash can was kept FIFTEEN years ago!!! We remodeled in 2001 and have had a pull out one across from this one since that time. Seriously freaked me out.

My doctor says not to worry when you misplace your keys, no matter where you put them. The time to worry is when you don't know what keys are and what they are for. I like my doctor!

Are you all really that forgetful? I can't imagine being that way! I have a daughter that is, but I sure am not. At least not yet.

Sue

Got news for ya, folks ... (bad news, I fear) ... it gets worse.

Some time ago, at the coffee shop after the monthly investment group meeting, I'd said that I was worried as to whether I was skating on the edge of the Alzheimers rink ...

... and a guy sitting across from me, with whom I've had a bit more than the usual connection, and who's had quite a lot to do with Alzheimers in his family, looked at me and said, "Ed - you don't have to worry about Alzheimers!".

Which warmed my spirit ... until I though that his (diagnosis) ... mjght be somewhat of a temporary reprieve.

ole joyfuelled (so far)