On being forgetful

IN less than two years, I will be a senior citi zen. I look forward to receiving my senior card and enjoying the perks that come with it. This is one of the upsides to aging. I know there could be more. We can talk about that another time.

If you ask me what I am afraid of, at this stage in my life, I would have to say, “to be stricken with Alzheimer’s when I am older, if I am blessed to reach 70 or more.“

My mother is now 87 years old. She has been suffering with Alzheimer’s disease for more than twelve years now. She has been living with my family here in Baguio for ten of those twelve years, since my father died. God has blessed us with very caring and compassionate caregivers and nurses. I cannot complain. To top it all, my husband Mike, has treated my mother like his own.

So, where is this seeming “fear” coming from? Two things. First, from seeing my mother, suffer the humbling and debilitating symp- toms of the disease. Second, from the reality that I am my mother’s daughter, and I am becoming more and more like her, especially on being...forgetful.

It is becoming more often that I forget where I place my keys, my cellphone, or even my purse. Sometimes, I even forget where I am going, what I am supposed to say or what I am looking for. I find myself tracing my steps to remember. But then, I forget what I am supposed to remember. Funny, yes. But, frightening, too.

So even if it is sometimes irritating to be told over and over and over again to put them (keys and cellphone esp) in the same place always, I really ought to remember and follow Mike. “Write down important things,” is another advice I know I ought to obey. Tell me please, what vitamins should I take?

To look at the brighter side, forgetting has