Take the Plunge

My mother had Alzheimer’s. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s. I strongly suspect that my great-grandmother had it as well. Ergo, I’ve long been petrified that I will have Alzheimer’s.

My husband pooh-poohs the notion, citing my current mental faculties, plus some recent medical tests.

My kids are tired of hearing me talk about when I lose my marbles, and how they should just leave me in a nice memory care facility—preferably one with great food and wine.

Years ago, I made some girlfriends promise that if I ever get to a point where my mind is gone, they will take me someplace where assisted dying is legal and help me exit painlessly. My preference would be Western Australia. AD is legal in all six Australian states, and the Western Australia coast is my happy place.

For the record, assisted dying is also legal in 10 states in the US, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, and Ecuador. Laws are strict; guidelines are plentiful. But there are pathways for dying with dignity in certain places.

As we emerged from the COVID 19 pandemic at the end of 2022, I was convinced that my persistent brain fog, ennui, and general funk was the beginning of early-onset Alzheimer’s. Coming out of a global crisis where I hadn’t stretched my brain in a while and being in the late stages of menopause didn’t help. Nonetheless, I convinced myself that these were simply contributing factors to the rapid onset of genetic Alzheimer’s.

After watching two people I dearly loved navigate the nasty disease, I determined to find ways to stave it off. I read articles about diet and exercise. Being relatively healthy, I was already doing the suggested no-processed foods, Omega-3 supplements, and daily 30+ minutes of cardio. I added brain teasers, crossword puzzles, and Sudoku to my repertoire.

Then, I listened to a podcast (I cannot remember which one) about creating new neural pathways by doing new things. “New” could be as simple as walking a different route to the grocery store or as complicated as learning a language or musical instrument.

I thought, “I can do this!” And, even if it doesn’t slow down my mental demise, at least I’ll have some new things to talk about at parties, the dinner table, book club, the grocery line….

At the beginning of 2023, I challenged myself to try one new thing each month. But I kept the challenge quiet. I didn’t tell my family or friends—I didn’t want people asking how I was doing. And I didn’t want the pressure to succeed.

We had recently moved into a condo with a swimming pool. I’d yet to jump in. The first month, I decided that if I didn’t find something new, I’d take a plunge and tick the box.

Then, on a trip in January, I took a Vietnamese cooking class with my family. Having lived in Asia for twenty years, that was the one cuisine I’d not explored. We dove in and discovered Banh Xeo—crispy, turmeric, coconut pancakes stuffed with veggies and prawns. I haven’t made them since, but I often dream of eating them. Box ticked.

In February, I made a Valentine’s Day card by quilling, a craft where you roll and twirl coloured paper strips into intricate shapes. In March, I tried barbecue durian as a main course dish and watched the filming of the Steven Colbert show in NY (not at the same time). That gave me two new things in one month!

In April, I inadvertently walked across the Delaware River. (It was on a bridge, don’t be that impressed.) I also rode NJ transit by myself, learned to play pickle ball, and used Chat GPT for the first time. Initially, I thought, if I did more than one new thing a month, I could bank them…but that felt like cheating. So, I just added them all to the list, but didn’t count them ahead.

May was busy. I began working with a non-profit organisation to mentor a young woman in growing a home-based business, started a new job in the climate change sector, watched a Sunset Cinema movie on the beach, tried a vegan tasting menu, and made a new friend!

June found me navigating the NYC subway on my own, visiting the Brooklyn Museum (love, love, love Four Artists, Four Walls on the second floor), and not inadvertently walking across the East River.

I booked my own flights and hotels for a Penang trip—I’m notoriously bad at travel arrangements—and went to see the Barbie movie on my own in July. It was the first time I’d bought a ticket for one to a cinema.

Finding something new in August was tough, but at the last minute, I went to lunch and a movie with a group of women, many of whom I’d never met before.

The rest of the year included cooking jackfruit, learning Dominoes, Mahjong, and Canasta, taking a train by myself from Rome to Milan, going to a newly built theatre in Singapore, and meeting my son’s girlfriend’s parents.

When I looked back at the list in December, I was surprised at how many new things I tried. Some stuck, some didn’t. Some were intentional. Some were serendipitous. I never set out to do more than one new thing each month, and yet, most months I had multiples. I found that once I opened myself to new experiences and started saying “yes!” to invitations, new things presented themselves.

I decided to try again in 2024. This time I added a parameter—nothing food or cooking related. With my food obsession, including new foods and drinks was a bit too easy.

Highlights from 2024 included attending the Australian Open, seeing Taylor Swift in concert, a 25^th Anniversary trip to Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary, lunch at a Buddhist temple (I know, no food stuff, but this was really cool), visiting Labuan Bajo, Puerta Aventuras, and Klosters, riding a double-decker bus, and taking an ice bath—which I loved so much that I’ve been back quite a few times!

As I look over the 2024 list, it occurs to me, I should have said I cannot count new travel in 2025. But exploring new places and the discoveries along the way are like new things times a hundred, so my neural pathways must be growing exponentially!

First ice bath.

We’re halfway through 2025 and so far, I’ve joined a Women’s Forum group and completed their moderator training course, visited Sumatra, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik, attended a lecture on Timor Leste at a local university, submitted an essay to an anthology, and started my Substack!

I’m not sure what’s coming in the second half of 2025, but if all else fails, I still have the swimming pool.