Still Jamie....

Last week I had a really frightening experience. It’s been a week today since it happened, and when I think about it, I still get that sick feeling in my stomach, so I thought I would share…

The garage where we usually park at work is undergoing construction, so we recently had to move to parking in the municipal lot. All good. No worries. I parked Thursday and Friday with no issues. As is common in a municipal lot, when you’re parking all day, you are supposed to park on the upper levels. Again, no problem.

Last Monday, I parked in (what I thought) was the same spot I had parked the previous two trips in. I exited my car and got into the elevator. When I walked onto the street though, I was on the wrong street – the garage has entrances on two streets. I thought – “wow, I don’t remember having to cross the garage to exit on the other street” – but it was Monday, and Friday seemed like a distant memory – so maybe I had.

I went to work – all day, no problem. Left the office and went back to the garage, remembering to walk across the garage to get to the “right” elevator. I get off on the floor I remembered parking on and my car was not in the spot. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach? Was my car stolen? Who would want to steal a filthy Honda (why are there NO car washes here?!) – when I walked over to the empty spot, it was not the number that I remembered from the morning.

I walked up another level and still no dirty Honda. I honestly didn’t think it was stolen. But now, I was just so very confused and getting afraid. What was going on? We’ve all parked in a parking lot or garage and forgotten where we left our car. This wasn’t that. I started shaking. I hit the panic button on my remote and could hear my car horn going off, but I couldn’t tell if it was coming from above or below. Finally, I found my car. In the same spot I had parked it in that morning. My mistake had been that I was still parked in short-term – and had I gone up one more level, I would have been fine. On the level that I was on, the elevator opens to the other street – which should have been my first clue that morning.

I cried when I sat in the car and realized that I hadn’t lost my mind. I remembered that movie with Julianne Moore – Still Alice – where she is this brilliant professor and all of a sudden – out of the blue – on a walk home, she can’t remember where she lives. How totally frightening…and now I can relate.

If I was 20 years old, I probably would have had a different reaction. The thoughts of Alzheimer's or dementia wouldn’t even have entered my mind. But being a few years older than 20 (😊) – it becomes more and more possible.

I now have so much more compassion for those battling memory issues. If you are or know someone going through this – I send you my prayers. I am so very grateful that I am not there yet. I also have never been so happy to see that filthy Honda.

#alzheimers #dementia #grateful #filthyhonda #gohappyyourself