Every day whether I want to or not, I ask myself if I still have all my marbles. I had lots of them when I was young, but I kept them in a tiny little leather bag that I carried to school every day. Weather permitting, I would try to win someone else’s cat’s eye, boulder, shooter, biggie or aggie if I could.

But the kind of marbles I’m talking about now, are the kind that roll around in your brain. Sometimes, a brain fart can occur without warning and it can really throw you for a loop!  If you are with friends your own age, they just wait for it to pass, because it happens to them all the time. Generally, you recover fast, if you’re lucky.

After I turned 40, I noticed I’d be driving somewhere and I would “temporarily forget” where the heck I was going! But somehow I always seemed to figure it out. At that time, I had a bunch of kids, and ran a business with my husband, and when I think back, I wonder how I actually did everything I needed to do each day without collapsing each night. Luckily, the night always refreshed both of us and to his day, I’m always raring to go each morning!

I have loved every day of my life. I married my best friend, adored all my children and my amazing friends. Each of us helped one another navigate our lives. I have lost many of my friends and grieved with them through the loss of a child or spouse.

Developing dementia or Alzheimer’s is one of the worst things that can happen to someone and it also affects the entire family.  If you’re lucky it starts out later in life but it can progress over many years. It’s hard for me to not try and finish a friend’s sentence because they are struggling with their memory. In the very beginning stages, people know that they’re slipping, and in the end they don’t remember family members. The movie “Notebook”, comes to mind.

Just being able to recall memories from own your life is amazing because it can really enhance the quality of your life. Reminiscing together with friends and family is a gift and being able to continue making memories is a big bonus! As for me, writing this blog plus the other activities I love doing are what keeps me moving forward. And so far, I have not been running after my own marbles!

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I was thinking about importance of friendships, kinship and companionships are to me, and all of these other words that contain ships just popped into my mind.

Friendship:  Affable, affectionate, amiable, amicable, attentive, available, believable, brave, caring, cheerful, considerate, cordial, discerning, easygoing, empathetic, faithful, forgiving, funny, generous, gentle, giving, good listener, heartfelt, honest, humorous, and kind.

Kinship: A sharing of characteristics – can mean ancestry, affinity, sympathy, harmony, understanding, closeness, bond, and compatibility.

Companionship:  A feeling of fellowship, closeness, togetherness, amity, intimacy, rapport, camaraderie, brotherhood, sisterhood, company, society and social contact.

Workmanship: The degree of skill with which a product is made or a job done well.

Courtship: A period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship, especially with a view to marriage.

Nonpartisanship: Is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias toward a political party.

Dictatorship: Undemocratic rule, despotism, tyranny, autocracy, autarchy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and fascism.

Conservatorship: A person responsible for the repair and preservation of works of art, buildings, or other things of cultural or environment interest.

Membership:  Belonging to or being a part of a group or an organization.

Leadership:  The action of leading a group of people or an organization.

Censorship: The suppression of parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

Brinkmanship: The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limit of safety before stopping, typically in politics.  (Rampant today).

Understanding the importance of the above characteristics and knowing when to avoid others involves critical thinking.  An awesome tool in life.

After all, this is a short trip and it’s not a dress rehearsal either.

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