Do You Remember?
T
he older I get, the more I realize how much I
don't remember. My brain is so cluttered with
current information, phone numbers, email
addresses, passwords for every imaginable website
that I have to register for to pay bills online and
check my bank balance. Have you tried shopping
online, over the internet at Amazon or Shop.com?
Oh my goodness, the username and passwords that
are required are enough to send me to the mall
instead. On top of everything else that is going on in
my life, I have to remember to get my oil changed
every 3000 miles, and renew my driver's license and
insurance license, and schedule my annual physical
and mammogram. I need a personal assistant to
remind me when it is time to take my pets to the vet
for their annual vaccinations, and schedule my
dental cleanings. My mind is on overload.
Sometimes I think that technology has not made life
any easier. My iPhone is like an auxiliary memory
keeping my calendar of appointments and
commitments scheduled, and alerting me with
reminders that I've set up. I am beginning to wonder
how I ever kept track of my life before I had an
Outlook calendar and an iPhone. For more than 45
years I have relied on 3-ring binders, Year-At-AGlance calendars, 3X5 index cards and post-it notes
to help me organize all of the important information
that I need to remember year round. Now I can't
leave the house without my iPhone, my key fobs, and
my instantly brewed single-cup of coffee from the
new-fangled Keurig coffee maker.
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What did we do—how did we manage all of the
information that we needed to remember before all
of this user-friendly technology came into our lives?
I spent the Christmas holidays with my three adult
sons and their families. My new twin grandbabies
brought back memories of my own twin sons when
they were infants. That’s when I realized that my
memory is fading. It was hard to remember every
little thing they did…their first tooth, when they
started crawling, walking and talking…all of those
first accomplishments. I didn’t have the benefit of
Instagram and YouTube videos. All I had was
Polaroid photos and a 35mm camera that took
photos on film to be developed at Walmart 3-5 days
later. But life was busy and I never seemed to get all
of their “firsts” documented in their baby books.
Now when I try to recall the past 40 years of raising
my family, their chosen names, birthdates and
multiple places where we lived
are harder to remember.
Somehow current information
has crowded out all of the past
information that I really never
thought I would forget. Is
anyone else feeling
overwhelmed with the extraordinary amount of
useless information that is cluttering our minds and
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