I am not even going to begin to pretend I understand MEMORY. That awesome, fickle power that likes to ditch me as I step into another room (or as Billy Collins says in his poem Forgetfulness, retires “to a little fishing village where there are no phones”).
I don’t know why some things stick, like the thirty plus year old memories of being a kid trying to fry an egg on the summer sidewalk or dig a hole to China, as opposed to what happened in oh I don’t know, the entire year of 2009 (there had to be something significant, but right now I can’t think of anything).
Some memories stay locked up tight, while others eventually slip out of one of those dusty, creaky memory doors.
Nowadays when something does stay with me, I’m thinking there’s magic involved (or dessert–dessert can be quite memorable).
And I especially LOVE when I read a book with that kind of magic, that special something that manages to capture prime real estate in my brain.
Ever read an unforgettable story?
We wrapped our dreams in words and patterned the words so that they would live forever, unforgettable.”
― Neil Gaiman, Fragile Things
Happy Monday!
Coleen Patrick 
You are so funny! I don’t remember 2009 either… or 2008… actually the entire decade of the 90s is pretty much a blur 🙂
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I agree with you on the 90s. It started out easy to remember and then became a blur of babies, diapers and the like! 🙂
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Hey I just did a blog post on memory and time! Hahaha! I will stop by!
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Yup, I remember it 😉 –I think I even commented how I can’t remember entire years! Crazy, huh?
THanks Susie!
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Now that you mention it… what did I do in 2009? I think it was a lot of studying. Not sure what, though! Time is a funny thing, and sometimes I try to imagine a conversation between my 18 year old self and myself today. What would I think about where I am in my life, what I do, etc?
As for unforgettable stories, one of my all time favorites is ‘The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm’. I reread that thing at least once a year. So good!
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Hi Nickie! I am going to have to look up that story. I have a feeling if I had a conversation with my teenage self it would be an argument. I am stubborn, but it was worse way back when. I don’t think I’d listen to a word of advice from my current self. Kind of like my own kids. Circle of life and all that, right?
Thanks for coming by and sharing!
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This is so true! Frustrating how our memories work…or don’t work. Lol! Some books stick with me (Where the Red Fern Grows from 1st grade! Amazing) and then some books, I completely forget I’ve actually read *sigh*
(p.s. I’m collecting last addresses for the snail mail campaign if you’re still interested :))
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That’s funny because the first paragraph in Billy Collin’s Forgetfulness poem is about slowly forgetting the plot and then that we even read it in the first place.
Thanks for reminding me about the snail mail!
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2009 was a rather forgettable year, if you ask me.
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I’ve really been trying to think about it, but I think I would have to look at our photos to see what we did that year! 🙂
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I remember a lot, but I think it’s because I associate things with something emotional. Many childhood memories have faded in 50 years, and things that happened at work that really weren’t wasting my time on. I lost my mother to cancer and my grandson to war in 2009 — that I won’t forget. But, we also had the opportunity of hearing my husband’s uncle ‘s piano concerto and symphony ( well-known composer), performed by the Dayton Philharmonic Symphony — with Uncle Bob present. Bittersweet year. What troubles me is loading the washer with clothing, putting in the soap, closing the top and forgetting to push “start.”
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I associate years now with emotion too. It’s amazing though as the years pass how many years can be difficult to remember as a whole. But you’re right that the things that are really important will be the things we remember, both the sad and the happy.
I remember to press start on the washer, but lately I’ve somehow stopped listening to oven timers, often burning or boiling over many things. For some reason the timer has become a background noise that doesn’t alert me at all. Troubling!
Thank you for sharing Patricia 🙂
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Beautifully said, Coleen. A bunch of books have stayed locked in my memory. A few that come to mind include A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark (probably because I read it at least 5 times as a teen ;)), The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy, and another I won’t mention because it troubled me like you wouldn’t believe. The reasons stories stick aren’t always positive… 😉
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I’m a big fan of Mary Higgins Clark! There’s a few scenes from her books that I can still visualize–all terrifying ones! I agree with you–sometimes things are disturbingly unforgettable. *shiver*
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Once my kids all finished school, I had little to ‘peg’ my memories on, so life became a big blur. it still is, all these years later. LOL
the good news is I can’t remember resentments any more, which is good. I also forget kindnesses, which is bad. LOL
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Thanks for the smile Louise–you just summed it all up perfectly! 🙂
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Yep, I always have to count forwards and backwards from certain ‘key’ years to work out when things happened. It’s scary. As for my relationship with books, I have this terrible tendency to forget the best ones (not straight away, of course, but over time)…
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Now that I’m keeping track of my books on goodreads it’s weird because i actually say, I read this?? So weird how memory works–or doesn’t work!
Thanks Alarna 🙂
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Memories are very fickle. I hate it when I can’t remember someone’s name, but I remember the story they were working on the last time I saw them. Strange but true. Love the picture of the door.
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Thanks Kathi!
I’ve been doing some writing research that involves antique shops, so that’s where I took the door photo.
🙂
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Hmm, my years are pretty good – I can tie what happened to where we lived at the time, and we’ve moved a lot. But going into the next room? I read somewhere recently (can’t remember – hah!) that we’re pre-wired to forget or shift our thinking as we cross thresholds, like doorways and such. I like having an excuse!
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Yes, I read the same thing! I try to repeat a word as a reminder when I move to another room. Not that it always works. 🙂 Thanks Jennifer.
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LOL – we probably read it on a WANA1011 blog!
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So funny about memory. I was in the grocery store recently and the Blondie song “Rapture” came on. Yep, I sang every single word. The lyrics to Rapture are occupying space in my brain that could be used to remember to turn in my children’s paperwork at school, get the oil in my car changed, finish a sentence that trails off into…
Love the door pic. Beautiful.
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Thanks Julie. You are so right about song lyrics! So weird how that works.
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And here I thought we were the only kids trying to fry an egg on the sidewalk (it got partially cooked, but not enough to eat) and dig a hole to China (we made it to Mexico and then our spoon broke).
Lately, more and more of my thoughts have been traveling to that little fishing village. I really wish they’d install a phone! Loved your post over on Fabio’s blog. Great book recommendations.
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Thanks Tameri, our memories are hanging out and crafting together in that fishing village!
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I have asked myself that a lot–why do we remember some things and not others? I don’t have a clue. Now you’ve got me thinking about 2009 and what possibly happened then that should have stuck with me–I think that’s when my youngest went to preschool for the first time without big sister. I think.
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It’s just so weird how entire years can just slide one into the other!!
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