by Nancy Casey
Nobody remembers everything.
Today you will write down some of the many things you have forgotten. As you write about them, one by one, begin each one with “I forgot…”
Sometimes we forget things momentarily, like somebody’s name or that there is road construction on your usual route about town. Everybody probably wishes they didn’t forget things in that infuriating way, where you find yourself upstairs, not knowing what you came up there for, but sure enough, you remember as soon as you go back downstairs, so then you have to go up again. What information has escaped unexpectedly from your mind lately?
Some things are probably forgotten for good, like the names of every single one of your parents’ friends and the type of coat they wore in the winter time. Everybody has memories of past events, both desirable and undesirable, that are unforgettably vivid. Even so, there will be things you must have known at the time, though they are lost and forgotten, now. The color of somebody’s shoes, perhaps, or whether your fingernails were clean or dirty that day. Was it sunny out or cloudy. What did you once know that you certain you will never remember?
Sometimes temporary forgetting can lead to permanent remembering. Do you have an odd fact stuck in your brain forever because you forgot it on the day of a test?
Songs have a tendency to sing themselves over and over in our heads. Sometimes we wish we could forget them! But is it the whole song that rings again and again, or just a line or two? You’ve certainly heard the whole song before. What parts must you make an effort to remember?
Occasionally, forgetting can bring on a cascade of problems. If you forget your wallet, for instance, or a very important password. It’s bad news when you forget to bring your library books in out of the rain. It can be even worse news if you forget you left a laundry basket in the middle of the floor and you trip on it in the dark. What have you forgotten that has changed your life?
Do you remember everything that’s in your refrigerator, and exactly where each item is located? Could you have forgotten about some of the things that are in your closet? What about your license plate number or the number on line 37 of your taxes in 2009?
We forget so many things. And remember a lot of them again later. Only to forget them again. All the while new things keep happening, which we either remember or forget. Have you ever forgotten anything on purpose?
Write about what you have forgotten, beginning each time with the phrase, “I forgot…” Here is an example of what you might write. Give your work a title when you are finished, and write the date on it, too.
Nancy Casey teaches writing classes at the Recovery Center on Thursdays. Check the calendar for classes and times, or just drop in. All are welcome. She coordinates Recovery Radio, which airs on KRFP 90.3 FM in Moscow, Thursdays at 1:05 PM. Recovery Radio needs on-air and off-air volunteers. Call the Recovery Center 208-883-1045 or email latahrecoverycenter@gmail.com for more information.
Latah Recovery Community Center, Inc. 