Don’t Worry So Much

About Harry

Don’t worry too much when you forget something. It’s fairly normal; we all do it.

A. There’s usually a reason, an explanation: we’re busy, we’re tied up with something at the time, something else happens to distract you.

B. Look around, listen up. You will be surprised at how often you’ll hear someone say, “I forgot.” Or they’re telling you something and a name slips their memory. Happens all the time.

Try making a list if it will help. Take the burden off, relax, free it up; it may improve your memory. You know you can practice your memory: memorize a poem, memorize your grocery list, learn to remember phone numbers instead of relying on your smart phone—your smart phone should never be smarter that you.

So don’t worry so much. Alzheimer’s persons aren’t the only people having trouble with memory.

They say it takes 12 repetitions to “nail it,” to learn something so that it is yours.

So don’t worry about it so much. Read about Harry:

HE TRIED

Harry tried to improve on his memory.
He read out his grocery list:
A loaf of bread, a jug ’o mile, a stick ’o butter.
A loaf of bread, a jug ’o milk, a stick ’o butter.
He thought he had it nailed.
He chanted the list in his head.
All the way to the store.
Four miles on foot.
Got to the store.
Recited the list.
A loaf of bread a jug ’o milk, a stick ’o butter.
Up and down the aisles.

He got the loaf and he found the butter,
Of course, bread and butter. Aha!
And he bought a box of cereal.

He walked it all home.
Four miles on foot.
And spread his goods on the table.
His appetite juices raged.
Freely.
He couldn’t wait to dig in.

He ate the bread, he ate the butter,
But the fridge held no milk!
Zounds!

They say it takes twelve repetitions to “nail it.”
It took Harry ten.

He memorized his list.
A loaf of bread, a jug ’o mile, a stick o’ butter,
A jar ’o jam, a bag ’o rice, some nice bulk
Peanut butter?

He came home.
Four miles on foot.
He’d forgotten the peanut butter.

By the sixth time, Harry was remembering more each time.
It took him ten times to remember everything. By the twelfth time, he began to feel confident. And the four miles didn’t seem so far any more.

It can be done.

We have a lady in our poetry group who has a prodigious memory. She has said that once she has written a piece she memorizes, memorizes, memorizes.

And that is the missing link for most of us. We simply forget to memorize. Too busy. Too distracted. Too lazy?

Excuse me now, I’m going off to try to memorize a verse.

And pity the poor dementia person. No, don’t pity, help him or her to memorize a safe routine, or how to do something they used to do.

And don’t forget to exercise your own memory. It’s a muscle and, you know, it seems obvious; but sometimes we need a reminder.

So don’t worry so much about it. Work it.

CREDITS: Both illustrations are from Clip Art. Links were dead ends.