My Memories

​We all have something in common. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe, or what you do for a living. That one thing we all have in common are memories.  Our lives are shaped by the way we remember our past.   


Sometimes the memories are good. Sometimes they are bad. How we look at those memories sets the precedent for our future. I write about good memories, but the bad memories are just below the surface. 


I keep most of those to myself. Nobody needs to or wants to know about the bad things that have happened to me. I don’t define myself by bad memories. Bad memories affect us, but I decided long ago that bad things happen for reasons beyond my control. I don’t dwell on those things if I can avoid it. 


I remember after getting the local newspaper every evening, my dad would tell us if someone he knew was in the obituaries. Usually there was a small bio that mentioned the deceased’s love for family and friends, where they worked, and their hobbies.  I could write one of them in a few minutes just a handful of facts. All that is needed is a few short paragraphs that sums up the deceased’s life. 


That little slice of their life is just that. A very little slice of that person’s entire life. No one new will ever hear the stories that they told, the adventures they had, or the hardships they lived through. When a descendant starts looking back a few generations from now, they’ll find that little blurb of an obituary about their great uncle and wonder what he was like. 


I made a choice. I’m not going to be the great uncle with untold stories. I’m writing my obituary and adding to it all the time. I’m writing everything that I remember about my life as well as my thoughts on things that I experienced from just a few minutes ago to fifty years ago. 


Each person in this world becomes a public figure three times in their life. Their birth, their marriage, and their deaths are events that are notable enough to be shared with the world in an obituary. I’m going to share the things in between. My obituary is going to be a book. 


I may never be the author I’ve always wanted to be, but I’m going to keep writing for myself if not the world. 


Have a great day and make a few good memories.

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