Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Trying To Remember

I forget a lot. In fact I have been wanting to blog on this subject, but I keep on forgetting to post. No kidding.

I never used to be like this. For years I attributed it the age of information overload. That my forgetting was a survival tactic against the implosion of data  I received on a daily basis in my Corporate life. Too much information coming in, meant letting go of the less important stuff.

It's gotten worse since I left Corporate America. Yes, I've gotten older too, but the fears of  forgetting something important Corporate life drums into you, the implication it might be life threatening and the fire drill craziness when something was forgotten is gone.

In theory  having a schedule that I create should mean less forgetfulness.  But it doesn't work like that. I forget. Every day. Several times a day. I can't be more specific because I forget how often it happens.

I write lists that I forget to look at. I set alarms in iCalendar and when the alarm goes off if I am not sitting in front of the computer I forget what I set it for. I keep pads of paper and pens all over the house in anticipation of a thought that enters my mind that might slip away if I don't record it quickly. I lose myself in the middle of a sentence, walk into a room and cannot remember what I went in there for and am constantly looking for my glasses. Usually they are on top of my head.

I've gotten pretty good at letting go of my anxiety around forgetting something important. My Corporate years taught me that no matter what I forgot or how much I worried about remembering to get it done,  everything that really needed to get done was.

The part I really don't understand is why in another  email influx from my approaching JHS reunion, I managed to remember that in the ninth grade I got a detention charge for "incessant giggling" yet I have to strain to think about what I did last Tuesday.

At the time I was written up I wasn't sure what incessant meant. I haven't forgotten since nor have I forgotten the joy of giggling. Which is a good thing, because with all this forgetting going on, laughter comes in handy.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I can relate!! The short term memory is not what it used to be!

Dreamin said...

Thank you, all rings so true for me as well! Remembering to take it in humorously is key!