More often than not, my mind feels like a cleanly wiped counter top; a true blank page if there ever is one. I am afraid the day is not very far when one of my children (I do have some, don’t I???) is going to initiate a conversation that is going to go like this:
"Mom, did you see my homework?"
“What homework?”
“The Science homework. I showed it to you in the car on the way to my swimming lesson yesterday.”
“Who is taking swimming lessons?”
“Both of us. Remember, you and Dad take turns driving us there every week?”
“Dad who?”
“Your husband” snaps my daughter.
“Oh really...When did that happen?”
“When you said ‘I do’ 15 years ago. Now coming back to the point, do you know where my homework is?” She sighs with impatience.
“What homework?”
The way my mind quits on me makes me wonder if I have an early onset of Alzheimer disease. If it is, I think it is a big rip-off considering I am only in my thirties. Don’t ask me if it is early or late 30s, my mind is a little foggy on that detail. What annoys me most about the way my mind kicks back and goes to sleep is:
1. It happens a lot and
2. It happens at the most awkward times.
Take, for example, the other day when we were mingling at a social gathering. There I was, walking around with a glass of punch and a goofy grin on my face. No one would have guessed the turmoil I was in. The names of half the people at the place escaped me. And all of them seemed to remember mine. That is not all. Folks were embracing me with such familiarity that you would think that we meet every other day for a game of cards. Or do we? Oh well, I know better than to ponder on that one.
If the DMV ever found out the logic (or the lack thereof) behind my driving technique, my license is sure to be revoked. Anytime I get behind the wheels, I need a quarter. No, there is no toll road in my neighborhood and I do not use a coin laundry. Every time I leave home and turn the corner to arrive at the ‘STOP’ sign, my mind quits on me. Do I turn left or right? What is the destination? If my kids are in the car with me, they shout out the destination but if I am driving solo, I use the coin. Before the advent of the coin usage, I used to sit there at the ‘STOP’ sign with my brow creased in intense concentration in an effort to determine which way I should go before folding under the pressure of honking cars from behind and turn to drive around on auto pilot mode. These days, I flip the coin. Heads, I go right and Tails, I go left.
Quarter – I don’t leave home without it.
10 comments:
Absolutely hilarious and a brilliant piece! KEEP IT COMING! I was rolling and laughing while I kept reading...
even many times i also feel very blank meeena.I thought it was a disorder with me only,now i feel itcould be a heriditary disorder.But unnaku idhu late 30s than vandirukku but why for me in this young age!!!.
Sriram,
Thank you da. I am happy that you enjoyed reading it.
Jeyamma,
Idhu romba overaa theriyala unakku!!??
I guess the coin shows you the right turn (I mean, the 'correct' turn :) every time? :)
Your timing is impeccable. Just this morning I was seriously considering going in to check out exactly that disease.
And blanking out on driving too. I ask my kids where we are going. And they shout out the destination. And they think its a game I have started playing. I wish!
I'm trying to live with it! Hilarious!
Meena,
The coin may not show me the 'correct' way but it beats sitting there staring at space. Any direction is better than no direction at all, in my way of thinking. :-)
Nagu and Latha,
I feel immensely better today knowing that you all have experienced the same annoying occasional memory loss like me. Nothing like feeling part of the mix. :-)
Meena, IMO, it is not empty mind - it is an overloaded mind. Last year, during the summer camp days, with a new camp each week, I once took Kaavya to the wrong one, and went merrily on my way to work. Then an anxious daughter called me and I had to turn right back and take her to the camp across town. Some days while driving, I take the exit to my office not realizing it is the weekend..Many, many more such embarrassing incidents illuminate the colander that goes by the name of "my mind" :-)
Et tu Srilatha?...
Do you hear me heaving a big sigh of relief here? It does happen to everyone. It is not just me. There is indeed a GOD.:-)
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