What Happened in 2010?

As 2010 winds down it is human nature to become introspective as we look back on the previous 365 days. The annual melody plays over in our mind, the "should-have, could-have, glad I did, glad I didn't" tune, as we muse over opportunities taken, as well as those we passed by or lost. For some, the reflection is short, as they cannot remember what they ate for dinner, much less what they were doing in, say April of 2010. I'm referring to the absent-minded, such as myself, who focus only on the crucial survival needs and send everything else to the cerebral shredder.

What defines crucial, you ask? (I'm going to ignore that comment, I'm certain I heard you ask). Crucial for me would be anything in the present and immediate future that requires my attention. Good examples would be, running low on coffee (a calamity of epic proportions), keeping enough gas in the car to reach grocery store to purchase aforementioned coffee, uninterrupted computer time (devoid of whiny children who are constantly hungry; "didn't you just eat yesterday?"), etc.

If past events do not fall into my crucial category, they are gone forever, lost in some imaginary ticker-tape parade. However, I do believe it's very important to learn from our past, so we can avoid future mistakes. Which begs the question, how can one learn from the past if one does not remember their past? I am so glad I asked that question for you! Here are some tips for retrieving your past, when your bumbling brain refuses to cooperate:

1) Check facebook. If it was public, chances are, there's a photo of you out there, just waiting to be discovered. Perhaps too much St. Patrick's Irish revelry? The swimsuit you should have left on the rack in the store? Your "friends night out" with quite possibly the most unflattering photo of you ever taken? It's all there, perpetually floating in cyberspace.

2) Ask your spouse. Assuming you remember who that person is, they are usually more than happy to remind you of your foibles. But do not despair; we humans have a natural tendency to recall the good times more than the bad...

3) Go back Somewhere In Time. It will do absolutely nothing to help with your memory retrieval, but it was an enchanting movie, filmed on Mackinaw Island, starring beautiful Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve, who was at his peak of freshness! Ooh, la la!

4) Read your checkbook register. Caution: this could cause irregular heartbeats and queasy, unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms as you discover purchases you don't even remember making. Not to mention discovering the cost of living, which at some point forced the sale of one of your kidneys (so that explains this huge scar!)

5) Eat chocolate. This bears repeating. Eat a lot of chocolate. Qualitative, quantitative, evidence-based research has shown the calming effects of chocolate. But, what in the world does being calm have to do with memory?

I don't remember.

 But happily, it doesn't matter. I have my coffee and I have my chocolate.

Happy New Year!  - May God bless all of you in 2011!  :)