I was talking to my friend, Joan, on the phone when she suddenly got real serious and I knew something was wrong. She said she had recently forgotten where her car was parked upon exiting WalMart. Not just once had this happened, but twice.

She sounded so distraught about misplacing her car and it scared her a little. She explained that had never happened before but lately she had been forgetting things. She had also had a few moments while at work which caused her to get chewed out by her boss. She told me she thought it might be something physical as she had some sort of thyroid trouble.

I didn’t believe that was the case here. Joan was fifty five years old and being rudely introduced to a world filled with senior moments. It happens so suddenly and when it does it leaves you baffled and a little afraid. I had not only forgotten where my car was parked but had gotten into the wrong car altogether. This happened quite frequently.

I explained to her that I could even top that. One afternoon after being at the VA Hospital all day, I asked my friend who was driving to stop at the convenience store so I could pick up some cigarettes.

I got out of the car and walked the few feet to the counter and asked the clerk for my brand of smokes. He got them for me and I reached in my large pocketbook for my ATM card. I had to remove some things to get to it, one of which was a small bag of stuff I had purchased earlier.

I handed him the card to pay for my cigarettes. He gave it back and I put it and the other stuff back in my purse and started for the door.

Before I reached the door, the clerk yelled out, “You forgot your bag! Is this your bag?” He held up the bag I had left on the counter. I shook my head “no” and proceeded to open the door to go out when it hit me. That was the bag of stuff I had just taken out of my pocketbook and laid on the counter!

Needless to say I was embarrassed as I went back and retrieved my bag of stuff. I returned to the car and home where my secret was safe. I still remember the look on that guy’s face when I denied the bag belonged to me after he had just seen me remove it and place it on the counter. Maybe he thought it was a bomb or something.

As I am learning to live with these bouts of forgetfulness, it becomes quite funny to me. As Joan and I shared our stories with one another, we started laughing, realizing how humorous the whole situation really is. This is a human thing and we all share it, male or female.

There comes a time as we grow older that we have lapses in memory once in a while. Nothing really serious, just times of feeling like we are outside of ourselves somehow. I always prided myself on my memory so it was hard for me to accept at first. I believe it gets easier as time goes on. It makes me see once again that God does, indeed, have a sense of humor.

Sharlett Hunt Sharlette863@aol.com