Do we all need to worry about dementia? My computer thinks I do...

Why is my feed full of articles about dementia? 

Seriously.  I’m sure it’s the algorithm.  I click on one, then another is suggested.   Short essays about failing family members and their escapades.  Prevention.  Early detection.  Risk factors.  The role of alcohol (ugh—you don’t want to know). Grip strength.   diet. Exercise.  social encounters.  Create something.  Music. 

I’ve enjoyed reading all of them, but I’m starting to get a bit...what’s the word? 

Superstitious.   

It’s not purely an academic question for me.  My annual MRI’s confirm that I have “stable loss of brain matter, age appropriate and from prior surgery.  Not significantly changed.”  

A constant reminder that I’m not starting from a level playing field. 

This isn’t boo-hoo.  It’s boots on the ground what do I do about it, when really all I want is my morning coffee and to relax with my wife? 

This summer we had an amazing 2 week vacation with our kids.  I was constantly immersed in the puzzle of transit, different languages, culture, food. 

Getting lost in the streets and found again. 

What do we do now? 

Too much wine in France and too much beer in Belgium and Amsterdam.   

I wouldn’t change a thing.  Except that my writing took a break, and I need it.  I need to keep finding the wrong letters on the keyboard and correcting my mistakes.

My handwriting was always barely legible, worse now, and I overuse “amazing” when describing the day.  I tend to make myself more coherent when I’m typing instead of journaling.   

My creativity also peaks with my morning coffee, not in a buzzed and overfed slumber before turning out the lights.  I’m not sure that there’s much in my travel journal that merits review, other than to label our millions of photos.  

In the meantime, I appreciate that the New York Times knows or suspects that I’m interested in all of these articles.  I’m okay with that.  Facebook, on the other hand...at least it’s not constant cat videos.