Remember? Huh? Remember?

On my way to theBus stop this morning, I was going through my mental checklist: work badge, bus pass, newspaper, phone, iPhone, jacks, lipbalm, bandana, sunglasses. Monster wallet, of course.

But I couldn’t remember if I had stuck my reading glasses in my purse, aka The Black Hole. But I do have spares at work. Fortunately, once I was on theBus, I found my reading glasses. Nothing is worse than sitting on theBus without the ability to read the paper or consult my iPhone. I have to look at people, or dodge eye contact. Watching the scenery go by isn’t so bad.

Remembering is one reason I work out like a brain-washed cult member. On the MSNBC Website is a story today about the benefits exercise has on brain fitness . It’s worth reading.

It might be amusing to have brain futs now in my life, but, seriously, I’ve seen the result of brain degradation and it isn’t pretty.  It’s actually heartbreaking. Might as well be vacancy signs in their eyes. I don’t ever remember mentally connecting with my grandfather, and it was so dissapointing when my grandmother slipped away.

When I was single, I used to travel back to South Jersey for family visits a few times a year. Each visit involved a trip to Mom-Mom’s to help her with some cleaning. They’d save the big stuff for me: washing curtains and venetian blinds, bedspreads, area rugs… It was probably Catholic guilt, but during one visit, as I was toiling away, Mom-Mom shoved a $20 bill at me for my trouble. She did this three times.

I don’t remember @;-O if that was the last time I saw her, but this I do remember: In a phone conversation with my Mom after I returned to Honolulu, she told me that Mom-Mom said I didn’t clean anything. Whoa? Really? So why the $60 bucks throughout the day? Mom’s doubts assuaged, we concluded our conversation and I was disappointed at the end of that call. I was young enough to resent not getting credit for the labor, but not too young to feel my heart break at Mom-Mom’s lapse.

If you still need motivation to break a sweat, consider those who wish like hell they could. I have another reason, too: osteoporosis. I can’t believe I have it, so there’s another reason for a lunch-time walk, and to stand up straight. But that’s another post.