The Things We’ll Remember

If you were asked what you did on any given day three weeks ago would you be able to remember without going back and checking your calendar first? Or what about a day two weeks ago? More than likely the answer is no.

But what if you were asked where you went on your last vacation – could you remember that? Or what you did last Christmas or on the Fourth of July? Chances are you remember exactly where you went and what you did.

That’s because we tend to remember the experiences that are out of the ordinary. When we do things that are novel such as going on a vacation, or eating at a new restaurant, or trying something new we remember these things vividly.

We also remember the repeated experiences which is why it is so easy to recall what we did during the holidays each year and what traditions we celebrate.

We also remember “firsts”. Our first kiss, our first love, our first heartbreak, the first time we rode our bike, the first time we drove a car,

We remember people that we feel close to in life and we remember people who impacted our lives in a majorly positive way as well as people who impacted us in a majorly negative way. We remember our relationships that were meaningful to our lives.

I bring all this up because over the weekend I was scrambling to get a bunch of things done already and then my son asked me Friday if I would be willing to l let him bring 12 of his friends over and have me cook them Sunday dinner so they could do a little celebration honoring the Passover. My first thought was “I have so much to get done this weekend” but then something stopped me from saying it out loud and instead I said “Sure!” As I was pondering my response I realized that the reason I said yes was because I knew that having this dinner celebration with my son and his wife and their friends was going to be a memory that would stay with me. If I didn’t have them over I would look back and have no memory of what went on this particular Sunday, but because I was willing to say yes I now get to have an amazing memory of our little Passover celebration we did with his friends.

If we can stop ourselves from just saying “no I’m too busy” all the time we can open the door to doing things that will forever be amazing memories. Be more willing to do “first experiences”. Be more willing to start and keep up repeated traditions. Be more willing to make time to get close to people who can impact your life for the better. These are the things you are going to remember in your life. These are the memories you get to take with you. Focus on making more memories in life! They are AWESOME!

~Amy

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