Memory; so very complex

A dinner conversation about my glasses. It seems as if they are always smudged. Then, a comment about how my glasses were always covered with dark flecks back back in the days when I was working with my tools. Then I remembered; most of the dark flecks were from the cheap paint on the  3/4" cold rolled channel we used for ceiling construction. The other spots were more permanent; sparks of hot metal burned into the glass when I was welding and didn't get my hood down in time as the arc began to flare. I remembered the cost of new glasses when the spots became too numerous and vision was impaired.

Only a minute had passed since I had commented on the smudges on my glasses. In that small amount of time I had gone back in time to the late 70's and the 80's. And had placed myself on a scaffold, 40 feet above the ground during a cold winter day.

It's all part of growing old. A comment or the sight of something vaguely familiar will trigger the most intense memories. Sometimes I will see a face in the crowd that closely resembles someone I knew 40 years ago. But...it can't be. They haven't aged at all? A few times I stopped myself, just in time, from walking up to them and saying "Hey! remember me?" A close call!

I saw our doctor last week and I asked him about memory; both the long term and the short term. He told me that what I was experiencing was normal, and from his observations, I was not in any danger from Alzheimers or dementia.

I've decided to enjoy the memories. I can't go back in time but I can bring those memories back to this present time.

At the meeting with my doctor I was proud to tell him that I had lost 56 pounds since August of last year. Also, that I was going to do another 5K walk. Just for the t-shirt of course. I will be doing that this Sunday.

To conclude our meeting with my doctor, he gave me referrals to the out-patient physical rehabilitation department of our local hospital. That's to help me combat the balance problems I have these days. My right foot was affected by the spinal surgeries I had  and has a tendency to do what it wants, That, and neuropathy for the right foot makes balance an iffy proposition when I'm tired, And I have a referral to a neurologist as well and for the same thing.

I went to the out-patient department today to set up the appointments and there I was, in a building that I had helped to build 25 years ago. Apparently the building had changed hands and was now the property of the hospital. More memories! I can't seem to escape them...but that's certainly better than the alternative!