Confession time:

Ever since I was quite young, I have had trouble remembering things. And it definitely hasn't been because I haven't cared or tried.

I'm glad I'm not a squirrel... I'd forget where I stored the nuts for winter!

I can't say when exactly I first became aware of it... but I think it became evident once I was a few years into grade school and I would have the hardest time remembering any of my lessons.

Now, if you've been a follower of these pages of any time at all, you might wonder how I can say this, given that so many of my posts involves memories from days gone by.

So, to be a little more specific, it is my short term memory that is absolutely lousy.

So lousy, in fact, that I started keeping lists when I was about 9-10 years old... simply to "function properly."

As you might imagine, poor short term memory offers up some interesting challenges, particularly during school years. Studying for exams was very difficult, and I typically didn't do so well on exams, even in subjects where I was otherwise an A+ student. In time, I learned that my best bet to do a decent job with my exams was to thoroughly learn various concepts as soon as they were taught, rather than right before exam time.

It was far from perfect, of course, but good enough for me to make it all the way through high school and then university as about a B+ student.

Memory is a funny thing. I couldn't actually tell you how long it has to be before things I "should" know suddenly reappear in my memory banks... because that is what happens.

Of course, the challenge is compounded by the fact that some of this is "selective." When I meet someone, I will remember their face forever, but I will have forgotten their name in five minutes... even if they remind me several times!

Do I actually have a cognitive dysfunction? I couldn't tell you, for sure... but without my extensive list-keeping, I'd be pretty lost. If Mrs. Denmarkguy says "oh, we're about to run out of olive oil" while we're eating, I can either get up and put it on the shopping list right then, or it will be forgotten a few moments later.

And, as I said, not because I don't care.

Upon reflection, it also feels right to say that I have always kept journals because I knew I couldn't rely on my memory to tell me what happened from day-to-day... so I need to record important happenings here and there.

And one of these days I might find myself unable to remember whether or not I have written a blog post about my poor memory... and have to come back here and do a search, to find out!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your weekend!

How about YOU? Do you have a sharp memory? Do you keep lists, or do you just "remember things?" Give me a shout back... Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210206 23:44 PST
x098