Memory

Most parents would be concerned if their child forgot an entire year of their life.

I play a song on the piano called Memory. It's from Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage play Cats. The grey, old cat comes and sings of days past and things both good and bad that she experienced. It's a reminder that life is not always as expected but that you can still look back and appreciate all of life. 

But when you lost those memories where do you go to retrieve them?  I could read through my journal, look at pictures, or even read over my Facebook page. 

What about for a child? 

It may seem unusual for a child to lose memories but for mine it has happened multiple times. It became first recognizable when he was in Kindergarten. He learned to write his name then woke one morning with no memory of having every written his name. But we moved forward teaching him again the letters one-by-one. 

In many ways this can also be a blessing. As he forgets that we've told him about the tooth fairy, and Santa Claus--- he becomes just as thrilled on a Christmas morning to discover that he gets presents under the tree. His face lights up just the same as my 2 and 3 year old, full of excitement, wonder and surprise. 

 Then just last week, he's forgotten that he ever attended 4th grade. I may show him pictures and talk of memories, but that year in his mind is gone. Will it ever come back? That's uncertain. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. 

We were outside playing basketball, and as a side-note, my son has been playing basketball everyday for 1-2 hours for the last 3ish years, practicing free throws and dribbling. Last week while outside he dribbled the ball back and forth took a shot and made it! He shouted aloud, "Wow! I'm so good at this!" his face lit up with joy and happiness, "I haven't played basketball in years!" 

Midnight, not a sound from the pavement.
Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone.
In the lamp light the withered leaves collect at my feet,
And the wind, begins to moan.

Memory, all alone in the moonlight.
I can dream of the old days, life was beautiful then.
I remember, the time I knew what happiness was.
Let the memory live again.

Every street lamp seems to beat, a fatalistic warning.
Someone mutters and a street lamp gutters, and soon it will be morning.

Daylight, I must wait for the sun rise,
I must think of a new life, and I mustn't give in.
When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too,
And a new day will begin.

Burnt out ends of smoky days, the stale cold smell of morning.
A street lamp dies, another night is over, another day is dawning.

Touch me, its so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory, of my days in the sun.
If you touch me, you'll understand what happiness is.
Look, a new day has begun.

Webber, A. (1984) https://genius.com/Andrew-lloyd-webber-memory-lyrics