So that's why I seem senile!

I recently read a great article which explains why we are prone to forget what we went to the kitchen for once we've arrived. It isn't the kitchen so much as the doorway to the kitchen that causes the disconnect.

Here's a brief excerpt from the article

"Passing through a doorway, whether we're entering or exiting, creates something called an "event boundary" in our mind...  That event boundary "separates episodes of activity and files them away." It's just one of the many tricks our brain uses to keep life organized. Our mind parses events out with "event boundaries" to help us sort through thoughts and memories. But in the case of forgetting things, it's "like the brain is too efficient for its own good, sticking thoughts back in the cabinet before you're done using them..."

Reading that made everything seem suddenly clear.  It also made the idea of open-plan loft living seem curiously attractive.

This morning I was rushing through my routine when, on my way into the kitchen, I cocked my arm to glance at my watch.  In doing so, I experienced such an 'event boundary'.  I barked my elbow so hard on the door-frame that I forgot my own name! 

It evens out though, because a split second later I inadvertently taught our eight-year-old son several words he will never forget, no matter how many doorways he passes through in his life.