Sometimes I feel so odd. I may have a disease they have not yet named. People who mix up letters and words are dyslexic. What about people who find that numbers and dates drift into some gray hole and are barely retrievable.
I was a good student in school and got A's and B's in math. I took two years of algebra, one year of geometry and a partial year of advanced algebra with an intro to calculus. I was happy to find that I never used any of this knowledge once I left school. For me, it was like working with puzzles and finding solutions. I was uncomfortable in math classes and worked hard, probably harder than I needed to, because of my fear of failure.
Numbers sometimes elude me. I keep close watch on my calendar as I usually know the month and sometimes the day of the week but rarely the number of the day. But since I have a calendar booklet and a computer calendar I really do not care.
I frequently can be a year off on my age, and the same with my husband's age. I know approximately the age of the grandchildren, but once they pass 6 it has become harder for me to guess as they do not show their age so easily. I always need to ask my own children how old they are even though I do remember the years and dates of their birth and could do the math in my head. I only remember my wedding anniversary because I have been shamed over the years by my husband for forgetting.
I cannot remember the date that my father or my mother died. I cannot remember the date my younger sister died or her exact age at the time of her death even though this was a tragic time for me. I feel badly that I do not know the anniversaries of these deaths but I will have to ask someone, write them down and review them for a time before they are in my memory.
I have always been this way so I know it is not forgetfulness in old age. Is anyone else as handicapped with dates and numbers such as I? Is this a syndrome or medical condition, or is it just me and my subconscious denial of the passage of time?
I often have the same problem...some of the dates I know I just don't want to remember and some I have to think of by associating some happening to them.
ReplyDeleteI really really wish I paid more attention to math when I was in school. But I was more interested in science and found math boring. Now as an adult, I have come to realize that math/numbers hold so many answers that it makes me angry that teachers back then didn't do more to make us understand that.
ReplyDeleteAs for remembering numbers and dates - not much of a problem. I'm worse at remembering names. And Terri may be right, there are some times or dates you may just not want to remember... or as for the number of the day of the week - if you're retired, there's no real need.
Hi dear you.....numbers yes, I am severely challenged with numbers. Dates yes unless I can link them to something that happened to me at about the same time. My father and grandmother died the same time at the same hospital. Mother didn't tell them the other was dying. They died just before I started college for the first time in 1966. Mother died just before I graduated from college in 89. Yes, there were a lot of those challenged years in the middle. :)
ReplyDeletePhotography. If you have not done so, please consider taking a beginning college composition class. One semester of that and you will feel vastly more self confident. I'm self taught at this too, but I have eight years of college art classes to guide me. My first husband was a professional, and he thought I was useless with a camera. I am with my old Pentax, but I am great with a combination of point and shoot with Photoshop. And too, I am a natural at drawing. That helps too.
You are awfully good at taking pictures, The secret to it is to not stop taking pictures and study the experts.
Tabor, that's what is known in my family as the defective Ward gene, although it probably exists in others, too. My father used to get annoyed when we put his name to it as it definitely didn't come from him. I don't get frustrated when I forget dates, I've always been like that. And I'm not as bad as one of my sisters who once actually got a month wrong and turned up on my doorstep (in another country) a month ahead of when she was expected.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds perfectly normal to me. I have to calculate my own age sometimes! And now that I am retired I usually don't know the date.
ReplyDeleteWe are all tuned into different things. while you can't remember the dates of some of these passages, I'll bet you can clearly remember some aspects, like emotions or interactions with other people, or even what you were wearing. Not all of us have numerical minds.
Some people have a mind for these things, and some don't. Mine is one of those that can't properly gauge the passage of time. Things seem to have happened just a few days ago that are actually further into the past than i can believe.
ReplyDeleteI am dyslexic with numbers and yes that is a condition. When I take down a phone number, I have to repeat it or I will reverse the numbers. Once I realized it, I am more careful about writing things down-- not reversing them ;)
ReplyDeleteI do not remember the date of my parents deaths, my anniversary, other people's birthdays. The numbers that give me the most trouble are telephone numbers.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't have my list or a phone that I have programmed from that list, I cannot make a call, sometimes not even to my own house.
Yes. Me too. All my life. I think that everyone thinks and processes info differently. I have been devoted to my pocket calendar ever since I had kids otherwise none of us would have arrived on the right day until they grew up.
ReplyDeleteI have a fairly good memory for such things, though I don't remember the exact dates that my grandfathers died, or my sweet dog either. I do know the date most of the time, and birthdays and anniversaries stick with me pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI did the same in math that you did, A's and B's, actually I think I only did one year algebra.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to my age, I have to think of what year it is. I was born in 60, so if it is 2014 then my age ends in a four, unless it is before May then it is still a three.
Oh, too hard!
At least I get the decade right most of the time! Except this one time a little tyke asked me how old I was and I blurted out 35 without even thinking.
I was shocked! Then I smiled at her and said, I got it backwards. I'm 53.
I loved math and have always been good with numbers. I can remember phone numbers from years ago and the birthdays of people that I have not seen in a long time. However, in the past ten years I no longer have the need to remember these things as they are now electronically memorized, so I don't make the effort. The date and days of the week have less meaning to me now that I have retired since time is now mine and deadlines are no longer a part of my life. I do miss them sometimes though.
ReplyDeleteNumbers haven't caused me any problems throughout my life. But dates and names have always been a problem.
ReplyDeleteActually, this can be a form of dyslexia as well. It isn't just mixing up of letters and numbers or reading them backwards, it is actually grasping and understanding them that is a problem.
ReplyDeleteI actually did an informational post on dyslexia a few years ago (I have dyslexia) and I think it was eye opening for many people.
In case you are interested:
http://fritterfarmers.blogspot.com/2008/07/explanation.html
ReplyDeleteI often have the same problem that you mention, nice to know I'm not alone.
I need to read Kat's link, one of my grandkids is Dyslexic. It has not been easy for him.
I have decided that the place in my brain for telephone numbers is five,maximum. I am relieved to hear that others forget birthdays,death days, anniversaries,etc.
ReplyDeleteMy parents kept an annual devotional book. Mother would write in advance every birth-date and anniversary in the new book on the date page of each family member including her siblings and their children and grandchildren. On those days they would say a special prayer for that person or persons. As the year wore on they would add names of persons who were sick or families of friends who had lost loved ones. As we (their children) started our own families, our mother began to give us these annual devotional books and write the information in them for us. It was not an easy task. I have attempted to keep up the tradition and pass the books to my children every year but know that I am the last person in the family who will do this. It has been a blessing for me to think of these family members every day as their names cross my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSimilar in many ways :)
ReplyDeleteDo not like asking my daughter
my youngest granddaughte's correct ages. I seem to have everyone younger then they are.
A habit of this one in the past - but not anymore :)
I tend to remember dates and numbers that have relevance in my life. While a birth or anniversary is special, does it make that much difference if we know it or not during the course of an average day? I relate numbers to other things. My father died the day before my birthday. Easy. He died when I was pregnant with my last child. That helps with the year. And so on...
ReplyDeleteMy husband remembers numbers because he takes pride in having a good memory; i.e. he "wants" to.
I've been reading the comments. Seems you're not alone.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but you could have dyscalculia. If you do, you have a less severe than me. I had trouble with left and right, telling time, and with spacial visualizing. Algebra was lost on me and doing word math problems made me feel like I was going to have a seizure. Even now I have trouble remembering how the world map lays out and am terrible with dates. According to my reading people with this issue can excel at writing/poetry and other creative pursuits.
ReplyDeleteWith me it's names. They don't go in very easily anymore and are also hard to retrieve. It is more of an age issue with me although it started long before I was old. My mental failings unnerve me at times.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your brain doesn't want to know about the bad stuff details, n tosses them out so you can go on easier- Probably stress-induced memory loss.
ReplyDeleteI remember all the dates disasters n deaths, n dwell on too many negatives. I still get the SonsIL bday dates wrong every now n then forget to send cards to them. But late is better than never!
All bday dates are in Monthly heading order, name with origin year following in a typed list on the frig to reference at will so I don't lose it in a paper stack.