My husband’s cognitive abilities are tested at least once a year during medical appointments. The tests ask him if he knows what day it is, the date and year, who the president is, to remember a series of words and he always passes because he knows what to expect. However, I am thinking that it might be a good idea for us to talk about these things more because since we both retired the actual day of the week and date have become somewhat irrelevant. We check our calendar every morning for appointments and, if there are none, we move on to enjoy another day just like all the others.

This is not just for him, but also for me. My cognitive abilities need to be exercised so that I can protect my brain as I am getting older too. I am at all his appointments with him and often catch myself participating quietly in the testing. I don’t always do so great, especially when they ask him to count back from 100 in 7s. It will not be good if I develop cognitive challenges, who will care for us then?

We already have times when we talk about current events in the world, I think that it is time for us to add some talk about the basics, the day of the week and the date of the month. It never hurts to add to the dialogue and will serve to work our brains as we recall the facts and strengthen the internal mechanisms that allow us to verbalize them. We both need a strong foundation so we can have a healthy future together.