I'm No Brainiac

Last week I wrote about the boy with the serious worm phobia, and at the time I really thought it was just an excuse to avoid school. Since then, I have seen this poor kid really suffering from this fear, and I realized I should not be so flippant about things that seem funny to me.

The brain works in amazing, mysterious ways. I remember when I was in a kid, I felt like I was pretty smart, because school was usually easy and I didn't have to work too hard to get As. I was somewhat socially backward though, and was too shy to speak to anyone unless they talked to me first.

As an adult, I don't feel nearly so smart! In fact, I am much more likely to be amazed that I could do and say so many dumb things throughout a day! Like tonight when Nick asked if there was meat in the spaghetti sauce and I said, "I know better than to feed you and your dad pizza with no meat!" Nick was puzzled. "I thought you said you were making spaghetti!"

After spending time with my dad, who suffers from dementia, I tend to worry a little more about my forgetfulness and mis-speaking. Saturday when I came home I did some internet research on dementia/Alzheimers and took a little 10 question test. I'm pretty sure I passed it without cheating too much, with the conclusion being that my forgetfulness is still within the range of normal!

So while I have a somewhat normal brain function, I am determined to appreciate and be thankful for the ability to learn, to reason, to remember, to love, laugh, and process the complex patterns of daily living.