Losing My Mind

I've been told by my wife and by a coworker that it's just age, and that makes me worry: if I'm like this now, what will I be like in the next 10 years?

Last week, I wrote about how I'm addicted to new technology, specifically those devices that make life simpler: reminders for appointments and birthdays, to-do and contact lists, and more. But I also think that these devices that take things off our minds are also contributing to the erosion of our memories.

My short-term memory is also short-lived.

When I was a kid, I had all of my friends' phone numbers memorized. There was no need to look them up. To this day, I still remember some of those phone numbers. I also remember my own home number from when I grew up in Parkwood Hills.

Ask me what my kids' cell-phone number are, and I'll shrug. I have to look them up. And even though I can tell you DW's phone number, I had to actually pause and come up with it while I was writing this paragraph. I couldn't type and recite it at the same time.

Because all of the phone numbers in my contact list can be called up by voice command or are listed under my recent calls, I don't have to remember them anymore.

And that's a shame.

My memory loss isn't limited to contact phone numbers, either. If I don't put a reminder for an appointment in my calendar, with a reminder notification the day before and again two hours before the appointment, I won't remember it.

Sometimes, I don't remember even making the appointment until it comes up.

At work, I don't use my smartphone for tasks that I have to do: instead, I have a book that I write in with my to-do tasks. But lately, if I don't write something down as soon as it comes up, I'll forget, and unless somebody reminds me, it won't get done.

That's not good.

I've been so worried about my failing memory that I've actually made an appointment to see my doctor. Dementia does run in my family, and these days, I often find myself wondering about what's going on in my head.

So, when I return from my trip, it's off to see what my doctor can determine what's going on.

If I remember.

Oh yeah, my smartphone will remind me.