Forget why you came upstairs? Cat thinkies

Photo of cat apparently thinking Remind me why I came upstairs?"
You know this thing, forgetting why you went upstairs.

If only there was a memory elf to help when you forget why you came upstairs. They wouldn’t need much of a brain, just a functioning short-term memory.

Yes, we know the feeling. We all do it, forgetting the tiniest and most recent thought, like why you went into the kitchen or up or down the stairs.

How many times a day?

I tell myself to pause at the threshold and say, I’m going to do X. Or Y.

But I only do that once in a blue moon. This is getting boring. So bring me a memory elf. They can do double duty with me and Ursula.

17 thoughts on “Forget why you came upstairs? Cat thinkies

  1. I had a very pertinent point but I’ve forgotten what it was!

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      Durn. Peter’s points are permanently pertinent.

      1. Perhaps I’ll ponder the prolific pertinent points.

  2. Destinesia: sudden amnesia once you arrive at your destination. I just love made up words!

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      Awesome! I need it tattooed on my forehead.

  3. cedar51 says:

    Know the feeling – but nearly always something else attracts me when I’m in said room…but I do like “Destnesia” – let’s see if I can remember it!

  4. alison41 says:

    I’m so pleased to hear from Ursula again; its been a while. At least she can thoughtfully have a little wash, while she wonders just why she came upstairs …. a little wash and grooming is a comforting thing. Perhaps you should keep a comb in your pocket for baffling destination situations?

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      This would substantially improve my appearance, thank you. Usually, like Ursula, I continue to wander vaguely in the same direction and some purpose will emerge. Which, yes, may involve a comb.

  5. Alan Ralph says:

    I’ve been sometimes in need of a memory elf this past year, probably due to the effects of Covid-anxiety. I try to go easy on myself, after all I’ve got all day to sort stuff out thanks to shielding at home.

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      Yes! Anxiety can affect our working memory, I’ve been told–at any age. Sounds as if you have an excellent way of coping with it. I hope you reward yourself for every task accomplished, even the tiniest ones?

  6. dawnkinster says:

    I was having that issue long before Covid, but I think I’ll blame it on covid nevertheless.

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      Good strategy: milk it!

  7. hilarymb says:

    Hi Rachel – love ‘Destinesia’ … definitely needs to be used very often – but not because we need it – just it’s a word we can remember … I often open another tab and then wonder … why! Thankfully my memory is pretty good … but it is wandering towards forgetting … and ‘milk it’ … shall do. All the best – Hilary

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      As Helen Zaltzman says in her top podcast, The Allusionist, use it in an email today!

  8. I remember later, but by then I am somewhere else.

    1. Rachel McAlpine says:

      Seems to me that the thing I’ve forgotten is not particularly important as a rule. The skies don’t fall. So maybe we only forget quite trivial things, or it’s nature’s way of telling us to get moving.

      1. I agree.

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