This is an actual conversation I had with my friend Susie:
Me: Suz, will you pick a spatula out of that container for me?
Susie: Sure.
[she chose this white spatula]
[I then showed her this utensil]
Me: Ok, now what do you call this?
Susie: Umm… a spatula. [said slowly and cautiously while looking at me like I might be having a breakdown.]
Me: Oh, thank God. I was afraid I forgot a word.
It’s kind of amazing people put up with me, isn’t it? I’m not sure if it’s the exhaustion or the pain or the amounts of Vicodin I have to take… but I lose words during everyday conversation and it drives me crazy! But seriously, who would name two completely different looking utensils with the same word if they weren’t trying to mess with people?
This whole losing words mid-sentence thing is more frustrating than you can imagine. I think half the time I’m playing the game Taboo with people and they’re just unaware that they’re active participants. I can’t think of a word and I start spouting off a description until I come up with the word I’m looking for, or they unintentionally fill it in for me. It goes something like this:
Me: It’s in the cupboard next to the appliance above the stove that’s black and cooks… THE MICROWAVE! Yes! It’s in the cupboard next to the microwave!
Sometimes I wonder how long it will be before someone starts throwing around the word “institution.”
Or, as I would call it: that building where they house people who can’t remember how to carry on normal conversations…
possibly my favorite all time post! i do not normally laugh at loud at posts - but this one got me! first of all, we just had a conversation in our house yesterday about that utensil. my son (16) informed me that the white one is a rubber scraper and the other is a spatula. well, thank you very much!!
ReplyDeletei have the exact same problem with finding words. one day i could not think of a certain word and said "you know, they are in homes, they divide rooms, you hang pictures on them". a wall?? YES, THAT'S IT!
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i so do the same thing. and i don't even have meds to blame it on. hmph. i call it fuzzy brain syndrome, just to make myself feel better.
ReplyDeleteand i'm totally with you on the spatula nonsense. i've always wondered how they can both be named the same thing.
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ROFLOL!!! Dave and I play this game ALL THE TIME!! Tooooo funny!!
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
I have the same problem due to the brain damage from my lyme disease. I drive my son and hubby crazy! Often to Domonick (my 12 yr old) I say, "Go start your homework. And don't forget one of those things . . .you know, you write with it, has lead, has eraser. . . no. 2 on the side. . .what is it??" And he says, "ummmm. A pencil, Mom?" It makes me so irritated!! On top of that my hubby will tell me things and I forget them often right after he tells me. And I will tell him something usually like six times. He tries to be patient, but it is exhausting! LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Thanks for sharing! I sure can relate!!
Hope you're having a good day.
Blessings,
christina w.
Nah, the white one is a spatula and the black one is a fish slice. At least this side of the pond. Not that I've ever sliced fish with mine - I use it to flip pancakes :).
ReplyDeleteSo here's the thing...I did this when I was in my 20s and 30s and blamed it on the kids...I do it now and blame it on perimenopause! No pills needed here!
ReplyDeleteAnd the spatula...the white one...I have stood in the kitchen and had this LONG conversation with on of the daughters over what that thing should actually be called. There should be a movement to change the name...I'd join!
:*
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Actually (I'm not being a kill-joy, I promise), the black one is called a turner. I lived with a Home-Ec major, now FACS teacher for 20+ years! She corrected me every time! The Plastic white spatula, and the black plastic turner. Isn't it a mother's job to CORRECT her daughter?
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Technically, I think the white one is a spatula (or scraper), and the other one is a turner (I say "pancake turner" just to clarify, if I'm asking one of my kids to pass it to me.) My mom always called them both spatulas, so I often forget and call them both that, too, but according to Kitchenaid.com, they each have their own name.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other commenters about the forgetting of words. I used to blame it on having 5 kids, because I heard that each pregnancy makes you lose some brain cells. But really I think it's just normal to lose your train of thought as you get older and have more things to juggle at once! No special drugs needed.
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I don't have your excuses and I still loose words and names. I think it's normal! We have too many "important" things on our mind.
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LOL Loved this post...at 63, I encounter more and more of these little situations...and so does my hubby. Always good for a laugh when one doesn't take him or herself too seriously.
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Oh that's just too funny. I have had those same moments on migraine meds and lack of sleep! Awesome that you can laugh at it and go on! :)
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darn spatulas!
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I just call them all thingys, that way I never have to be corrected! I say would you get me that thingy that you mix the cookies with??? I mean white spatula.
ReplyDeleteWho makes up their names anyhow?
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I am like this EVERYDAY!!! But, my brain is evne mreo mushde pu now!!! Being around a sick Abby has turned me into a non-communicative person. Bill gave me a look today after I said something. The look said..."oh, honey, you didn't make any sense but that's OK I'll figure out what you meant!"
ReplyDeleteOnly one more day until our 29th Birthdays...we will have to make some big plans. I think a Dirty Dancing night is in order!!!
I am laughing so dang hard right now. You are not alone... I do this too.
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It's a good thing that we don't live together. Our conversations would be ridiculous...never finishing sentences...calling things by the wrong name. My husband has developed mental telepathy over the years, and can usually finish my sentences for me. Maybe if you think REALLY HARD, Riley can learn to "translate" for you!
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Bless your heart!
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday I ran into a girl I was suppose to know her name and I couldn't think of it for the world! I said my ABC's and waiting a few hours, thinking her name would eventually come to me, but ended up having to email my friend and give a description of this girl so my friend could tell me her name!
I guess it also comes along with growing older...UGH! :)
Hilarious!!! And isn't it always the SIMPLEST words you forget? Like wall... totally something I would do.
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Can you imagine our fuzzy brains together? We'd be talking in code by the end of the night. :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
So glad I'm not the only one! :) [btw, if you put your mouse over the picture of Riley in your comment box, you can hit the 'x' to delete him. we've got to do that tutorial one of these days!!!] :-P
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
oh, that must be so frustrating for you! i'm glad your family plays along with you so well, though. it's just one of those 'roll with the punches' things, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Fish slice?!?!? That's so crazy!!! I think I'm going to start calling it that now, just for fun. Do I have to say it with an accent? =-X
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
I think Rachel Ray has a different kind that she calls a 'spoonula' because it has spoon-like properties. We should all just buy those and boycott the regular ones! :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Is it really?!?!? When I was telling my mom about this, we were trying to decide if it was a pancake turner instead of a spatula.
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
!!!! You and Ynaffit above you are SO smart. Everyone I've asked has always called them both the same thing. Turner, it is. :)
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Oh, yes. I'm SURE that's what it is! We're just so smart and our brains are so full of important things that the useless words sometimes slip out. :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
:) I'm trying to blame it on meds instead of getting older...
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Well, I would complain about it more if I could remember the words required to complain. :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Right? I would love to be in a kitchen and know what professional chefs call them!!!
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My favorite is 'thing-a-majig'
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Poor Abby!!! Is she doing any better? Meg told me about that yesterday and I felt so bad! [and yes, we are ON for making sure no one puts Baby in a corner...]
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Another reason why I think we might actually be sisters...
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Oh, I think Riley would have a LOT to say if he was able to talk... translating or not!
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
I always hope it will pop into my head later, but usually I just forget what I was trying to remember in the first place. :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Don't know what happened to my comment but I'm trying again because I always called a turner a spatula too and always will. Burned too deep in my brain. My Pampered Chef friend says your white thing is a spatula and tries to reeducate me. I call it a "Scoopy Turner" thing which I think sounds like a great name for a newspaper reporter in Superman's Metropolis!
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You are not loosing it.
ReplyDeleteDamien can never remember the word ramkin, so don't feel bad.
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My comment is MIA O:-) I am pretty sure I left one. Hmmm... anyway, I blamed it on having pregnancy brain for the longest time and then sleep deprivation, and now? Yeah, I have no more excuses, just good ole brain drain I guess ;)
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First of all... I think you and Leslie had better clarify by your night of "Dirty Dancing" because my brain immediately went to the two of you going out on the town to do some dirty dancing - and while I know you can't go out and do that Sara - other readers may be confused!!! =-O As for the spatula... I'm with your reader who calls it a "thingy" - if you start calling everything a "thingy" then you only have one word to remember!! I realized I was doing that a lot when Jonathan was two and started calling lots of stuff "thingy" - wow!! And who is the speech-language pathologist?!?!? I've done much better with using actually vocabulary words with my children, but I still like the "thingy" idea!! :)
ReplyDeleteYup!
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Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 10:41:54 -0700
To: tiffanyleary@hotmail.com
From: js-kit-m2c-C4240GRVECNA5Q9EJHCMQGNVBR6SQAAFTD824RHUGDL2S7DEK9F0@reply.js-kit.com
Subject: Reply to your comment...
Scoopy Turner is a PERFECT name for Metropolis! You're too funny...
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Wow. That makes me feel SO much better :)
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Yeah, I'm just trying to avoid blaming it on age... :-P
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
I've started relying on thingamajig quite a bit. :) And you are SO funny about Dirty Dancing... I'd only be doing that if the Hoodads were playing. :)
ReplyDeleteRecent blog post: What's That Word Again?
When I came back from my study abroad in Paris I couldn't remember the words for most kitchen utensils...I remember shouting at my mom to bring me "un fouet" STAT and her just staring at me. I had to resort to charades before she realized I wanted a whisk :)
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HA! I wish I could sound all sophisticated and shout something in French... how cool that would be!!!
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Sara- I had to comment because I have 'word finding' issues all the time. And while in school for this degree learned thats a sign of early onset alzheimers. Which honestly, I believe I may have. (I know it isn't funny to joke, but really... sometimes I wonder).
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. And its maybe not the meds. Its our age (I'm 32). :)
Funny post. Funny comments. :)
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both of my grandpas had/have alzheimers, and sometimes my mom wonders if she has half-heimers [just not all the way there yet]. Not funny, yet you have to laugh! I'm thinking maybe you forget words cuz you're tired from all that studying and working!!!
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true. sometimes insanity is a funny thing! :-P
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Hey - when did you change your header? I like the new one - it's cute!
ReplyDeleteThis post was funny - but you know what? Even if you lose words every now and then, you manage to move, inspire and entertain me every day on this blog!
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haha - it doesn't sound sophisticated so much as ridiculous! It happened so
ReplyDeletefrequently the first few weeks back...I'd sit there stuttering in French
about things until the English would come to me or someone took pity on me.
:)
Hey, babe. I changed it last week; just felt it needed to feel more like spring sunshine, you know?
ReplyDeleteTruly... might be the nicest comment I've ever gotten. :) Thanks.
Recent blog post: What's That Word Again?
Here I thought it was from having kids?!! This frustrates me SOOOOO much!! I'll forget I read this post and I'll continue to blame those times when I was big with a kid inside, you know, and the kid wanted to come out, and it hurt.... oh yeah, childbirth.
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