Everything started out great — I got in a short line of other kids outside Oracle Park to have my picture taken with Chewbacca before heading to the seats with the family for the Giants game on Star Wars Day.
I bought a bottle of cold water because our seats were in the sun and it was warm for San Francisco, with no significant wind. I took one big drink and then got distracted by the game — and a Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae. As the first half of the 7th ended, I felt weird — dizzy and disoriented. I left the family, climbed up lots of stairs and lurched into the air-conditioned Club Level.
Leaning against a wall near a crowded food stand, I spied a single available chair at a small table occupied by a middle-aged woman. When I asked her if I could sit there, she said yes. Gratefully, I removed my hat and took slow, deep breaths in the cold air. Soon after, the woman left the table, leaving behind a glass of lemonade on ice, about a third full. Still woozy, I grabbed the glass, removed the lid and straw and slurped up the liquid.
Surprise — the woman came back to the table!
I apologized and told her I’d thought I might faint, so I had gulped down the last of her drink. “I’m not the fainting kind,” I said, "but I was worried." She said she often passes out, so she understood. Then she left the table again, to buy me a bottle of water at the food stand. She sat with me while I drank it, and she refused to take any money for her kindness. (I will pay this forward, somehow.)
When the family found me, I was feeling much better, but opted not to go back outside. I watched the rest of the game on a big monitor near my chair. Later that evening, I realized this was the third time I’d done something stupid in the last six months.
Late last year, as I got out of an Uber one evening, I grabbed my tote bag but left my purse behind, something I realized once I was in the lobby of my apartment. I’d had my keys in my pocket, so I was able to get in, get to my computer and alert Uber. The driver came back with my purse within 30 minutes. (I tipped her lavishly.)
A month ago, in one of my decluttering modes, I donated four old eyeglass cases — and one of them contained the prescription glasses I wear at the pool when I exercise. They’re gone for good, as I didn’t realize my mistake until two weeks later.
I have blamed these mistakes on aging. I know older adults can get dehydrated quickly — heck, I've written about that. I know to check the seat before getting out of an Uber. I know I should have opened the eyeglass cases before sending them to Goodwill.
Whining about my senescence has been helpful; even encouraging, because friends keep telling me these kinds of mistakes are common, and not just among older people. Two friends, both my age, were startled to hear I went to a day game, as they gave that up long ago because of the hot sun. One has quit going to baseball games entirely, because of all the walking and climbing required.
Three friends pointed out that if people didn’t leave things in Ubers all the time, the website wouldn’t make it so easy to report what you left behind. And one accused me of being too hard on myself and then asked if I were a perfectionist, trying to make other people look bad.
In my current Calm Down Mode, I remembered that in a recent interview with 80-year-old writer Jane Seskin, she shared with me her sensible approach to aging:
- Acknowledgment
- Accommodation
- Acceptance
Wise words, which I will keep in mind next time (of course there will be a next time) I do something stupid. I just hope I’m not losing my fastball.
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