When Your Scatter Brain Matures

I'm not sure about you but I was born with the scatter brain gene. My life has been spent running into things and saying dumb stuff at the most inappropriate times. My brain is constantly spinning and looking for a problem to solve, even when there aren't any in my realm of possibility.

I've said so many words I'd like to take back that they would fill a small country. It seems I just couldn't help myself. You see, I am a Sagittarius. Open mouth and insert foot is our team motto. For years I rode the astrology wave, hoping that it would help my life make more sense. It really didn't. On my budget, the best I could do was get my chart read by an address on a TV channel. The results sucked. I decided the details of my birth sign weren't all that important. Given to making bad decisions repeatedly, I went on into astrology world.

After I read all about myself I was very afraid and decided I would be wise to read all about my beloved Mr. S and my kids. Before we go further, let me say that this was just another of those dumb decisions I've made in my life. I haven't been on a TV show or anything but if there was one called Scatterbrain, I think my incredible record of poor decisions would get me there if I could remember what those were.

I am so thankful for getting old and forgetting young. The money I spent on understanding the planets in my family would have been better spent on fluffy toilet paper. I'm not sure I even finished reading all of that mindless stuff which was sent to me before I knew I'd made a poor decision, albeit an expensive one. Bummer.

During the 36 years I worked, my life was totally consumed with my family and a variety of newspapers. As good fortune would have it, in the end I had not one but three newspapers to manage, a shopper and a press operation. Those of us with the scatterbrain gene are the only ones who would gleefully take this kind of challenge on. The problem here was that my brain was getting old and my body was getting tired and my Sagittarius. was getting really frustrated. This was not good. Why? People like me would rather take a 600 mile bypass than a problematic 30 mile short cut. The only reason I survived this part of my life was because I worked with people who were good at what they did and easy to respect and love.

About that time my scatterbrain was also doing some pretty serious health-related damage to the rest of me. There's a lesson here. If your body tells you something is really wrong, you should pay attention. If you don't fix what is broken, your life will be given over to that brain we talked about earlier. I've been there. It's not funny and can be deadly.

What we haven't discussed is that the brain can be controlled and listens when you talk to it. Please note these are non-scientific opinions which originated in the mind of an old Sagittarius woman on the Oregon Coast. Mental health is a more important part of life for most of my Geezer friends than any other kind of health. Earlier in this column I talked about what happens when your brain fills up with things you can't process or things you don't want in there. The result is an explosion. It may be quiet or loud but it will take a toll on the rest of you.

Please don't let your scatterbrain take control of your life. The best lives are those we create and manage. They belong to us and we to them. I know that the older I get, the more my thoughts seem to wander. Sometimes I have to scold them when they go places I don't want to go. Of course, I begin to fuss about where those thoughts came from, REALLY? Yes. This is where we need to take that 30 mile short cut and STOP.

We grew up in a world which led us to be embarrassed by depression or feel that this disease is a sign of weakness. It's not.

Depression is a serious problem and affects many of us. The good news is that there are medications which can help control that scatterbrain of ours. I've been taking medication for depression for years. I'm not ashamed. I know so many of our Geezer Tribe members who would benefit from anti-depressants. If we can improve our lives through treatment of a disease many of us suffer from, then we should. This is our time. Don't let it go.

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