Jogging The Memory

"I'm not as young as we used to be; but I'm not as old as we're going to be."

I'm not sure where I first read that, - possibly from a Spike Milligan book when I was a kid, but I don't remember - and that's the point. I don't remember.

A slightly fickle example I admit; but as we get older, our minds and memories can play cruel tricks on us. Worst case scenarios include Alzheimer's and dementia - horrible conditions for both the sufferers and those around that care for them, usually family.

I heard a story recently of a woman who marbles were well and truly gone, but her Grand-children had noticed that when they went to visit her, she tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, and the taps had a pattern. It transpires, in her younger days, the woman had been in the military and was taught use Morse Code. Sixty years later, with almost no audible speech left, her brain had somehow retrieved the dots and dashes of Morse and she was able to resume limited communication with her family. Amazing!

Be creative in the ways you communicate with those around you. Learning even the basics of another language can make a holiday more enjoyable; an evening class in sign language could open up a whole new way of speaking; and even something as simple as a smile could mean the world to someone who doesn't have one of their own.

One last thought: Scientists say, the more you flex your own mind, the better chance you have of warding off memory related conditions. I don't know how true that is, but only good can come from at least trying. Auf Wiedersehen and  --. --- --- -.. -... -.-- .