I remember!

Two words, nine letters, one huge exclamation!  There isn't anything more wonderful or more taken for granted than starting a conversation with the words, "I remember!"  Most of us never even think of those conversations as extraordinary. I do!

Now, as we age more rapidly than we could ever imagine, as we (and I mean me) can no longer sprint across the yard after our grandchildren, lift them up out of the water without a Tylenol filled next 24 hours or run up and down the stairs without the help of oxygen, our memories are the most consoling parts of our day. Sharing things we remember from throughout our lives is a lovely, verbal novel that we are required by age and privileged by memory to tell our kids, their kids and even theirs (if we're lucky!)

So many times we'll pass a location and I'll say, "Did I tell you that when I was a kid...........?" "Yes, Grandma, you tell me every time we drive by here!"  Everybody just smiles now and listens to the story over again...or sometimes just pick up the story and they tell it. Somehow, that's even better.  That means they'll remember it forever and maybe tell it to their kids. 

But what happens, when you don't remember?  It's very, very scary!  Not remembering people's names is supposedly very normal.  Not remembering a word you're thinking of is supposedly age appropriate.  Oh God, I hope so!  I suppose that as we age, everything wrinkles! If we wrinkle on the outside so must we be wrinkling on the inside.  As sad and depressing as it is to have our exteriors  withering, I'll take the trade-off for maintaining fresh and cognitive gray matter.  I prefer my 50 shades to be internally healthy versus externally whipped!   But oh, if we only had that choice.

So it's time to write down your silly stories, your wild adventures, your sad encounters, your favorite sayings, your dumbest mistakes, your school achievements and even your heartfelt regrets. Grab a notebook, make a video, plop a grandchild on your lap and tell them your story because one day when a song or a smell or a conversation reminds you of something to share, you might not be so lucky to say, "I remember!"