Forgetfulness
Matt Seinberg

As I was driving to work, today, I had an idea of what I was going to write about this week. Being in the car, I couldn't write it down or do a memo in my phone. I just repeated it a couple of times, and hoped for the best.

Now, I can’t remember what I wanted to write.

As I sit in front of my computer now, I can't remember the idea, for the life of me. That is part of my forgetfulness. My daughters are constantly telling me that I don't remember anything they tell me. Sometimes I really don't, and sometimes I pretend I don't remember.  

When I was off on Friday, I did a couple loads of laundry. I forgot, a couple of times, that I had to put load one in the dryer and start washing load two. I prefer to get the laundry done earlier in the day, than have to deal with it later in the day. I got one load in the washer before I had to go out and do errands.

It was after lunch that I remembered that I had to do the second load. Somehow, I got distracted. It was an hour or two later that I finished the laundry.

Then there was this memory lapse. How many times have we put our cell phones down and then forget where we left it? I did that. I retraced my steps. I put it on my bed. I didn't even remember putting it there.

What I don't understand is how I can remember things at work, yet not remember stuff at home. The importance is the same. I focus more at work, I think, and less so at home.

I put all my important appointments in my phone with two reminders. The first is the day before and the second is the day of the appointment. They consist of appointments with physicians, service calls and any sort of delivery that may be happening that day at home.

My daughters roll their eyes when I say I can’t remember something.

What I really hate are the eye rolls I get from the kids when I don't remember that they insist that they told me. I tell them if that important, put it on the calendar or make sure I put it in my phone. If they don't do that, it doesn't exist.

Is this something that should concern me? No. When I was in my twenties, I could remember anything about anyone, and now I barely remember what I had for breakfast.

Dare I ask my physician about memory loss and go through a whack of test to see if there is something actually wrong and find out I am normal? I think the results would be interesting, if maybe downright scary. Sure, there are days that I don't feel like everything is okay. As long as I can get by and stay aware of what’s going on around me, well, I consider that a good day.

I recently did an at home sleep study because I told my physician I was tired all the time. I was wondering if it was the medications take. He said it probably wasn't, but the pulmonologist or sleep specialist he wanted me to see would be able to determine what the problem could be.

When I picked up the equipment, the technician showed me how to put it on. Maybe I missed some of the instructions or forgot a part of equipment. When I returned it on Monday, another technician downloaded the results and said it wasn't complete. She got another one and showed me what I did wrong and how to put it on correctly.

I went back again the next day and another technician downloaded the results and said everything was good. I was happy since I don't think I could have done it again.

Is CPAP a sort of scam?

I have an appointment for those results this Wednesday. I hope she doesn't tell me I have sleep apnea and need to wear a Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. There has to be a smaller and quieter alternative.

Maybe a better night’s sleep will improve my memory