I'm joining Momalom's 5 for 10 conversation for the next few days...Today's topic is "Memory".
I've got a great memory. And a terrible one.
I remember my dad's 1980 Mustang's license plate (AKY 737...junked approximately 20 years ago). I remember my credit card number and (almost) my library card number. I remember to grab a hat on the way to the beach. I remember to set a reminder to remind myself to pay the mortgage. I remember to restart the laundry, refill the kitty litter, brush my daughter's teeth.
I forget to bring my purse in from our car, sitting in a public alleyway. I forget sweaters, car keys, wallets, birthdays. I forget (without taking a moment to calculate) exactly how many years old I'll be this year.
And I forget just what my first daughter was like, at seven months. I forget what the second one was like at three months. Looking at them now, I think: I will remember this. I will remember them. I will. Then I see pictures, and realize there is no memory real enough to live over. No picture clear enough to bring back the voice, the gesture, the downy cheek. Just the sweetness of making the memories, hearing the voices, feeling the soft give of kisses.
1 comment:
I have to think that making the memories--enjoying them now, as they are--is more important than remembering them later. Otherwise I'd be paralyzed by my inability to document every moment! But it's still sad to think of all the bits and pieces that are lost to the passage of time...
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