Monday, May 25, 2009

Whatchamacallit

I am losing it. Slowly I am losing that ability to remember a particular name, a place or a word at the right time.

Yesterday we were having a a heated discussion with the society secretary about BMC's proposal to introduce a hawkers' zone in our area. Right at the most opportune moment , exactly when it was my turn to address the issue, I forgot the term 'hawker'. So here I was nudging my husband...

Me _"What do you call those people who sell their wares ?''

My husband - Shop keepers?

Me - No, no. You know those who line up on the streets and display their stuff ? And then sell them?

Husband - "Hookers?"

How did you think I reacted?

I was enraged.

All this while the secretary was watching us like a hawk. And then it struck me.

That's right...hawkers. And thank god the heated discussion continued on the right line after that.

It keeps happening all the time. I address my elder daughter by my younger one's name. She gets mad ." Mom, I am not Ayushi."

I feel guilty. "Sorry baby, It was just a slip of the tongue."

To avoid such situations from happening again, I now call her 'baby'. Whew. Motherhood is tough on a forgetful mind.

It is not just the names. I also forget incidents. Like once my sister in law, who is a very keen observer of women's dresses, asked me " Do you remember the diamond set the bride was wearing ?" Squirming I said "Yeahhhh! Was n't that gorgeous?" All the while trying desperately to remember did we actually attend a wedding together???

Then there are those incidences with the purse. I keep losing it. Just when the milk man or the presswallah comes for payment, I have trouble recalling where I kept it last. So then begin my efforts to involve the children in hunting for my elusive purse. It starts with a request, "Will you please look for my purse"? Then it becomes a threat. "Look for it or else no T.V." and ultimately turns into a bribe. "The one who finds it first gets Rs 50 from it." I am so bad at this motherhood thing.

And then there are those annoying dates. The birthdays and the anniversaries. Dates of the parent teacher meetings. Arrival or departure dates of those numerous people who come to my house. The date of the distribution of school uniform. I started making notes in my cell phone, but could not find the blasted thing when it rang. I forgot where I kept it.

I confess, initially I used to be rather worried about the state of my mind, but now I have sort of calmed myself down. If ever my mind becomes totally empty, devoid of anything substantial, my husband and my children would have to deal with it, not I. I will be in a blissful state. Imagine what a relief it will be not to remember who is coming to my house that day and what is his favourite food.

So now that I have established that losing my, er, you know, that thing...the faculty by which the human mind stores information , is not really my problem but my family's, I would like to ask you something... do you guys ever go through the same thing once in a while? This sudden loss of, you know...that word, that I vaguely remember starts with an 'm'? Let me know. I will be glad if I am not the only one with this whatchamacallit....

29 comments:

sujata sengupta said...

You are at your best again. Missed this..love this. I am this all the time..and you know we dont have to take the blame at all..we have generations to blame for this..but end of the day..its a happy state of mind.

Nona said...

Whenever there is something important to say, I always forget the name or the verb. That is where the nudging begins. My spouse is not happy with it. My coworkers have to put with it (and cites old age!)

Dheeraj said...

Believe me, it's got nothing to do with motherhood... ask my wife and she'll tell you how i mix up dates with omlettes with remotes with my mobile with my computer with cricket with Mr. Preeti with an ad with a character in a film with verbs... with logic, without logic... but the beauty of it all is that my wife still manages to decode my garbled sentences. Relax Aparna, you're not the only one suffering from thiswhatitis-itis.
Dheeraj :-)

DPhatsez said...

this is called 'selective memory loss' or 'convenient amnesia' due to the convenience with which you can forget the little things that matter :)

Me: "was a grear read 'aunty'"
You: "Aunty mat kaho naa"

Cheers!

Sakshi said...

Thank god I found you coz I took keep forgetting things and thought am at the verge of forgetting who am I??? Yeah at times it is really great to forget certain things and at times quiet embarrassing too but like you said am in a blissful state as long as it is not something like forgetting to pick my son up from school or asking my husband who he wants to visit when he knocks on the door :) :)
Thanks for coming by my blog and am loving urs..blogrolled it and if I don't comment on ur next post plz feel free to drop by mine and leave a comment to remind me will ya??? heee

Miss M said...

Hehe happens happens!! :)

Like i can remember faces, but am horrible at remembering names. It's even more embarassing when they remember you AND your name and when you have to introduce this 'i-cant-remember-your-name' person to a friend.. and you have to lean over to your friend and say "dude! I cant remember her name! Lets get out of here!" :P

Yes, it happens!
Btw, i will blog by today! For sure! Thanks for dropping a comment. Very sweet of you. :)

Aparna said...

@ Sujata ,thanks ketu, yes,whenever in doubt,blame the genes.
@ Nona,in my case,the nudging does not help at all. I have to get out of this mess all by myself.I am not ready to cite old age yet. I am citing my mother who forgets every once in a while she has a daughter and does not call daily.
@ Dheeraj, thanks buddy, great to know I am not alone.My regards to your wife.
@DPhatsez, Welcome to my blog, my nephew. I guess as your long lost aunt, I am at liberty to say that I did not really get the second part of your comment.
@ Sakshi, memory loss can be a bliss at times...but yes imagine not recognising the husband.( although I have a sneaking feeling that some women can also term that state as sheer bliss)
@ Miss M, happy blogging...looking forward to it. Thanks for dropping by.

Unknown said...

I'm in spilts!
yea, this does happen u'kno..sometimes I know the word in english, hindi, marathi and even french..but my mind blanks out that very word in Konkani, my mother tongue!!
Things are not misplaced..but when they are, they are as good as being labelled as 'lost'!!

Meira said...

nice blog here :)
and oh...you definitely are not alone. Everybody at my place is forgetful, with names, birthdays, things. The towel in the kitchen, the vessels in the bedroom kind:D

Guruprasad said...

hi, this is my first time here. loved this post... i can completely sympathise with you. i have stopped trying to remember any dates... my wife (bless her) manages that department for both of us! :)

aMus said...

haha..don't worry, you are in 'august company' mainly mine :P

i have done a post on this too...forgetfulness makes wonderful blog material :D

Aparna said...

@ Purnima, hi how are you? Glad I could provide you with some laughs.Whats laughter called in konkani?
@ Meira, thanks, as I keep saying, feels good to know I am not alone.
@ Guruprasad,welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy reading my posts.
@ Suma, I have been to your blog but have not read the particular post that you mention. Must remember to read it!

SJ said...

"hooker" LOL!!! This is pukka my story minus the kids. I have forgotten to switch off the damn stove so many times, and burnt my food :( These days I set the timer. I forget my keys and cellphone at home sigh..the list is endless... I shudder to think of what will happen to me when I have kids. Oh yea, J is even worse than me! The man has misplaced his specs, GPS cover, left his insurance at home and ended up paying a fine... God save us, sigh.

Rohit said...

made delightful reading..this happens to me once in a while ..yes..but it happens all the time with my sis ..she infact gets names interchanged.and am yet to ascertain whether its on purpose ;)because she ends up calling me her dogs name most of the time ....

अनिल कान्त said...

हां ऐसा होता है कभी कभी
आप अपने मन के भावों को बहुत अच्छा लिखती हैं

मेरी कलम - मेरी अभिव्यक्ति

Kadri Luik said...

I keep forgetting things all the time but I claim it's because my mind is so full with other and more important things, I simply can't keep track of it all. =)

Aparna said...

@ SJ fortunately my husband has a very good memory, I shudder to think what would have happened otherwise. Thanks for writing.
@ Rohit, your name with a dog's? Your sis seems like my kind!
@ Anil, thanks a lot.
@ Kadri, I try to tell myself this too, but it doesn't work all the time !

Onkar said...

You will be glad to know that there are many who are as forgetful, I being one. i keep forgetting everything...sometimes after calling up people i forget whom i have called.

mummyjaan said...

I can *so* relate to this, especially the annoyance at being unable to locate the invisible purse/cellphone.

Don't stress it :)! It happens to everyone. I mix up the childrens' names too. (It drives *them* nuts.)

Subhie Arun said...

Thank god I found you coz I took keep forgetting things
Thanks for coming by my blog and am loving urs..blogrolled it and if I don't comment on ur next post plz feel free to drop by mine and leave comments yar...thx again

Hip Grandma said...

i can relate to he situation described.been there myself.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

You have a lot of empathisers, including me, who suffer from the same disease. My antidote is to set reminders on my cellphone for every single thing. And make lists. And lose them.

Aviral said...

very nice post...the subtle humour adds to its beauty...

Lala said...

so you are forgetful. so what? we all are. you know when my 'forgetfulness' comes out at its best? when i am in the office and i have to explain something to someone... you know, arrey wo yaar... haan wo jo...

and so it goes. i hope your kids have learnt to live with it. :)

Rajesh said...

Nice!! This happens to everybody in some or other form. I remember faces but forget the names.

Aparna said...

Thanks @ Onkar @mummyjaan and @ subhie for writing in. Good to know I am not the only one with whatchamacallit.

Aparna said...

@hip grandma and @Sucharita, thank you. Both of you have a fantastic blog and I loved your posts.
Thank you Aviral, Lala and Rajesh.I feel relieved that I am not the only one with this dreadful condition.
Thanks all of you for writing in.

AnjuGandhi said...

Hi dear, this sort of situation happens with every one. we are so much bogged down with anxities, tensions and high expectations that they over shadow our thinking arena and we have short memory lapses. and not to worry.
as you rightly said it is our family's problem. we will be in a different world if it happens with us, away from all the happenings around us

Aparna said...

Hey Aparna....
Reached to your Blog today only by reading your comment on "http://ki-jaana-main-kaun.blogspot.com/"
I know you have not written anything great but it was your name which caught my attention as I happen to share your name. Also reaching your blog made me realize that we share the same zodiac too. And for this post oh god!!!!! this is too much of coincidence……..we share this problem as well.
Reading your posts is real fun I will keep visiting it.
Bye
Aparna