At one point in my life, I remembered everything. Everyone's birthday, every word uttered over recess, every injustice and embarrassing moment to come my way, all the books I'd read, what I did on my summer vacation, what my parents had served for Christmas dinner three years prior...it was all right there in my mind.
At a certain point - definitely by 40 - there's just too much to remember. Too many years have been lived to recall every moment. And so, your brain - mine at least - starts to selectively clean out the hard drive, seemingly without consulting you first.
I can't tell you how many books I've read 30 pages of before saying, "I think I read this already." Last month, I remembered an idea I had to invent a board game. I was in Barnes & Noble, and lo and behold, the game had already been invented (by Darryl Hannah, no less.) But the sad part is that years ago when I originally had the board game idea, I was greatly disappointed when the Darryl Hannah version came out soon after. So not only did I forget the idea, I forgot that it had already been squashed.
Yesterday I read an old journal entry that references a date with someone named Endre. I would have sworn to you that I had never even met anyone by that name, but my diaries don't lie. (Apologies if the so-called Endre is reading this. Doubtful.)
At 40, it's probably time to clean out the old hard drive and make room for some new memories. I wonder what's happening in my life now that is utterly forgettable and what's memorable...only time will tell.
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