Middle Aged Brian

A while ago, I was online playing a word game with a friend. We were leaving messages about how we weren't that good at these games. But she figured it was good to challenge ourselves to keep Alzheimer's at bay. I wrote back something like "Yes, the middle aged brain can play tricks on you sometimes".

She replied, "Who's Brian?"

That's when I looked at the messages and realized that I had typed B.R.I.A.N. instead of B.R.A.I.N. It was weird because as I was typing it, I realized that I had typed it wrong and actually went back and deleted it and typed it again.
I think it was serendipitous.

Now I have middle-aged Brian to blame for just about anything.

Like the other day when I made a pot of tea and poured myself a cup before I realized that I hadn't actually put a tea bag in. That middle-aged Brian! He just keeps tricking me.

Middle-age Brian gets you to do strange things. He makes you open the fridge and put your shoes in it. Or he lets you to back out of the driveway, and drive halfway up the road, before reminding you that your cell phone is in the house. So you drive home, run back in and look all over for it before you realize that Brian actually got you to put your cell phone in your purse, because he knew you'd need it to keep in touch with the kids while you were at work.

Sometimes he even makes me forget my childrens' names. I am not talking about the regular motherly thing that all mothers do - starting at one name and working their way down to the child they are actually talking to. I blame middle-aged Brian for the day I called my own son 'Steve'. It was one of those family nights when we were all together and everyone was enjoying the pizza and the licorice and the pop, and the junk food. Someone had something in their hand to pass around to everyone, and I said airily (waving my hand) "Oh, give it to Steve."

Everything stopped. I think the T.V. even put itself on mute. You could see it in their eyes as they looked around the room for Steve. "Steve???? Who's that? We didn't invite no Steve here tonight did we?"

Sometimes you have to ignore middle-aged Brian. He makes you say things that don't make sense and then if you try to explain it away, they (family, friends, co-workers) just think you are more crazy than you already are.

So I just kept my mouth shut and ate my pizza as if it was the most natural thing in the world to call your son Steve when his name doesn't even start with an "S". Eventually, the noise level went back to normal. I think they were too scared to ask.

Yep, as I age, I find myself doing some mighty silly things, and saying words that are not even close to what I mean. But at least I know who to blame now.