By 
While in the sauna at my gym, I overheard a conversation between an older man and his friend. Sam is in his 90s and still goes to the gym almost every day. As far as I know, he doesn’t use any of the machines. He likes the steam room, the sauna, and the hot tub. The other reason he is a regular is because many of his “friends of his” have a habit of showing up in the afternoon to “shoot the breeze”.
There is silence in the steam room for a moment, but soon Sam starts the conversation with Cliff:
SAM: You know, Cliff, my wife called me on Wednesday and told me that she lost her bag and she can’t remember where to start looking for it.
CLIFF: Well, we’re getting older. It used to be that I couldn’t remember what I did last week; Today, I don’t remember what I did this morning. Once you hit 70, the mind doesn’t work like it used to.
SAM: I guess you’re right, but my wife likes to forget things. She now she forgets more than she remembers.
CLIFF: So what happened to the bag?
SAM: Good thing you reminded me of the story I was telling you. A couple of days ago, he told me someone called about his bag. They had it and she needed to pick it up.
CLIFF: That’s good. Did she go looking for him?
SAM: Here’s something interesting… I asked him who called, but he couldn’t remember. That Wednesday she only went to the supermarket and a restaurant with some friends. We called both places, and neither of them remembered calling my house, and they didn’t have his wallet.
CLIFF: That’s a little unusual that she only went to two places and someone called, but still no bag.
SAM: There’s more to this story, and here’s the fun part. He called me right before he got to the gym and told me that he found her bag.
CLIFF: Guess you remembered who called you, huh?
SAM: Nope! He went up to her because this morning, and he noticed her bag was in her backseat!
[The friends enjoy a good laugh.]
CLIFF: My God! I guess everything went well, but the phone call thing is a little weird.
SAM: You’re right, but she’s 88 years old.
CLIFF: With my wife, it’s driving! I’m scared to death when she gets behind that wheel.
SAM: Well, my friend, that’s a whole different story and I don’t have time to tell it. I have to go!
This story reminds me of how much goes on in our lives, and it’s so easy to forget what we did just a few days ago. I find myself checking my calendar multiple times a day to see what’s ahead for the day.
Come to think of it… I’ve forgotten my wallet several times and had no idea where to start looking. I’m half the age of Sam’s wife, and the amnesia is already starting to set in!