Google came out with its list of the most searched words for 2022 and Wordle came in first. As usual I’m running behind the eight ball because it took that list for me to finally jump on the band wagon and try playing the New York Time’s daily word game, Wordle. Oh look at me, I just used not one but two worn out metaphors in the same sentence. “Behind the eight ball” is urban speak for “at a disadvantage” which is where I thought my creative, dyslexia driven spelling would put me if I followed the crowd and start doing what everyone else has been raving about doing for this past year.
Hooked that’s what I am now after a week of playing it every day. I’ve even learned how to cheat by playing as a guest on my Kindle and playing with an account on the Times site on my computer. That gives me double the guesses to solve the puzzle. After a few days of playing the game I found another site where you can play Wordle unlimited times every day. And the another 'cheat site' that is for people who play Scrabble but it’s godsend for solving Wordle. Usually I’m able to get the correct word on the third try using that WordTips site and sometimes by the fifth try not cheating at all. I don’t know if working Wordle will help me improve my spelling skills but it can’t hurt. At my age, any brain exercise I get is a good thing.
I’m not bragging when I say this but I think I do plenty of exercise for my brain. I read and discuss books with others, I play solitary and spider every day. I play Mahjong once a week. I write nearly every day and spend time on the computer with all the issues that entails when things go wrong. I don’t depend on a calculator to do the math that comes with living a normal life.
But when it comes to the other kind of exercise---the kind that requires us to move our bodies---I’m a dismal failure. And I have no excuse. I have a fully equipped workout room steps away from my apartment door and all kinds of free classes I could be working into my weekly schedule. If I’d seriously try to become a morning person I could make it to the cardio boxing, cardio drumming, sit and stretch or balance classes at the crack of too-damn-early. I did try them all when I first moved in but the afternoon Tai Chi is the only class I make it to, at least on an inconsistent basis. Don't even mention afternoon line dancing. I trip over my own feet too often to try that again---did a class and loved it in my forties.
But I’m a creature of habit if nothing else and it’s the beginning of January so I’ll bet you know where this is going. Yup, since I was in my early teens I’ve started a diet and exercise plan in the new year that will no doubt peter out by the end of February. And boy, do I ever need it this year! The holidays with all the extra foods and drinks around here put ten pounds on me since Thanksgiving and I need to get that back off before I outgrow my clothes. My first indication that I would honor this time tested tradition of all fatty-fatty-two-by-fours was when I found my jumping on the rowing machine across the hall every day. We have a TV in there so it’s been surprisingly easy to pop in there on the way home from going to the main building and I've been watching the 2023 version of Ground Hog Day, starring Kevin McCarthy trying to get enough votes to be the Speaker of the House.
I’ve also started eating lunch AND dinner again. I have/had a bad habit of going all day long without eating then from dinner on I’d make up for lost time, eating too many calories close to bedtime. I’m ordering soup for lunch and salads for dinner and I’ve already lost my first two pounds of my ten pound goal. If you saw my photo on the Christmas post you know I have far more than ten pounds to lose but right now I just want my clothes not to feel so tight.
New topic: One of my readers cautioned me not to describe my trips down to visit the Memory Care building out of respect for the residents and their families and it was easy enough to omit my infrequent interactions down there before my brother moved in. But I'm visiting several times a week now which makes it a bigger part of my life so from time to time I will be including a few of those experiences in my blog. Like today. My brother didn’t think his phone was working so I used my cell to call his landline. After he answered and we exchanged greetings I said, “Your phone is working so let's hang up now.”
“Don’t do that!” he said, “I want to talk to you.”
“I’m right here in the room with you,” I replied. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
So we had a good five minute conversation, all the time with me standing on the other side of the room and him talking into the phone.” It was crazy and funny and makes me smile every time I think about it. It's also a perfect example of the type of things I’m looking for every day to fulfill my New Year’s Resolution of finding the sweet moments in every day. My brother and I laughed a lot that day and the phone conversation was a sweet take-away.
Visiting a memory care aka dementia ward can make you sad but a visit can also make you feel good about helping someone touch bases with pieces of who they used to be. My brother and I have had some good conversations based on what I call my Show & Tells---objects, photos or readings that I bring with me. Even without a Show & Tell just helping a loved one do things like find their glasses or work their phone is a huge deal for someone who lives a small life in dementia care. ©
