Having a "Senior Moment"?

What? Me, having a senior moment. Hardly!

Have you ever had a "senior moment"?

How many of us have said that at least once in our lifetime?; "I'm having a senior moment," "I think I just had a senior moment"! "Don't blame me, I'm having a senior moment." We laugh, we take it lightly, and we tend to brush it off as a moment of lost thought or forgetfulness. But you know, since I've been working at a senior care community, I look at that statement very differently now. Don't get me wrong; it's good to laugh at ourselves. It's good to take life in stride and not to be too serious all the time. So, I guess what I'm saying is that this statement has different meanings. It's more complicated than given credit. Having a senior moment can be light and airy. Fun and humorous. Yet, it can tend to be very serious and emotionally saddening. It can be whatever we need it to be to reflect an action or reaction when it happens.

To show first hand the different variations of the meaning of "having a senior moment," I will share an actual moment that I have personally experienced. It's easier to tell a story than I thought it would be because they happen more often than not. I just turned 60, so I'm not far from the "senior" category. One of the most recent senior moments, which I would put under the "fun and humorous" category, would be when I was in the middle of a perfectly good conversation with a co-worker. I was sharing a quick story about my weekend; then, my mind went blank like a flash. I completely lost my thought. There was nothing. I could not remember where I left off, where I was going, nor how to end it. "Where in the world was I going with that"? It was almost scary to have a complete thought and direction of mind go blank. But yet, it was funny because I do remember laughing about the whole thing and moving on to other subject matter. Of course, I admitted to what had just happened, that I seemed to have had a "senior moment," then we laughed and moved on. Never to be given another thought. It's accepted, forgiven, and understood. It just happens sometimes.

Later that day, the forgotten part of my story returned to my memory, so I am grateful for that. It would've been nice not to have the memory loss, but I can go back to my friend and finish the story, although honestly, we were both okay without the need to continue and finish. It wasn't that important after all.

Note: This article is published with the agreed upon consent from Retirement living Sourcebook Summer/Fall 2020