The "O" Word
Conservative by Nature, Christian by Choice
Wait!  Where's the pictures?  They're supposed to be right here!  I swear, you can't find decent help these days...

Embarrass Much?

August 30th, 2010 . by Cary

I feel so bad about this, still – I’m hoping that by writing about it I can get out from under some of the weight…

Yesterday, when I asked the group if there were any birthdays or anniversaries this week, two were mentioned – one of the young ladies is about to become a teenager, and a son mentioned his mom’s “27th” birthday. I looked right at her – keep in mind, this is a woman I have known for a while now, we have spent time together in fellowship every weekend and some weeknights, and I can’t believe I did this – and could not remember her name. For the life of me, I blanked. My usual memory tricks failed me. I simply could not remember her name.

It wouldn’t have been so bad, really, except that before I could dredge up the name from the morass of my mind, we were singing “Happy Birthday” and it got to the part where we mentioned the names – and I didn’t have it.

Talk about an awkward silence…

Coverage was applied in the form of a joke about an old man (?!) who was attending memory classes at a school, and when asked the name of the school, he used one of the memory tricks – “Oh, what’s the name of that flower, it’s usually red, real pretty, and you give it to your true love?” “The rose?” “Yeah, that’s it – hey, Rose! What’s the name of that school I’m going to?”

Yeah, the joke made me feel real better. I just sank further into the seat (right behind her!) and hoped I could melt into the floor. She turned and said she forgave me, but I could tell I had hurt her deeply. I couldn’t apologize enough.

I’m not even fifty yet – is this the path I’m going to take? Names of friends and loved ones fading away, or playing hide-and-seek when I need them the most?

Chat ya later…

cary

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

3 Responses to “Embarrass Much?”

  1. comment number 1 by: Greybeard

    I can’t help ya brother.
    Get used to it though…
    From my experience, it gets worse with the passage of time.
    Making fun of yourself is the only way to lighten the situation.
    (Are ya worn out? Stress/fatigue makes it MUCH worse for me.)

  2. comment number 2 by: Cary

    Worn out? A bit – training a keyholder, and a part-timer, the keyholder will be taking some of the hours off my hands and the hands of the office manager, so we’ll be down closer to 40/week. Yeah, I’m tired, too.

    Well, if making light of it helps, then I guess I better look up some forgetfulness jokes. If I can remember where I left my old Joey Adams Joke Dictionary…

  3. comment number 3 by: Larry

    They say the memory is the second thing to go.
    I wish I could remember what was first…