SOMEONE CUT OUT THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE !!

Growing older does not mean that my mental abilities will automatically be decreased. I used to think that was the case; but, research and my own experiences have taught me otherwise. Maintaining an active mind is the key to staving off mind loss and Alzheimer’s, say the experts.

I have two favorite mental exercises that I practice every day...one of them is reading. I listened recently to an authority on sleeplessness and he stated that one should never read in bed. I guess his reasoning was that reading would stimulate the mind and tend to keep the reader awake. It acts precisely the opposite way for me and the last thing I do every night is read a chapter or two. It works better than a sleeping pill.

That’s why I always have two or more books that I’m reading at the same time. I have my daytime stimulator and my evening “snooze-maker”

My second exercise is the crossword puzzle. I go to the AARP Magazine site on my computer and print out their daily puzzle. This version is just hard enough to be fun without having to pull out the dictionary. I do this in bed also...first the puzzle and then the book. I'm definitely a creature of habit.

I don’t like to think that I have an obsession to working crossword puzzles but an unsolved one, wherever I find it, is definitely a lure. That’s why I had to laugh when I saw this cartoon. I remember so clearly being stuck in a Doctor’s office, waiting to be worked in and knowing I would be the last patient of the day. I spied the local paper and was comforted by the fact that I could while away the time by doing the crossword puzzle. When I opened the paper and found that the puzzle had been cut out I almost cried with frustration.

Joseph Addison has said, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. I would add crossword puzzles to that. They are both part of a mental playground where I can romp to my heart’s content.