Mom Memory
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:55 PM
As a lucky genetic gift from my mother, I have an excellent memory.
When I was a student this came in handy. Academic minutiae that other students had to spend hours drilling lodged itself in my brain with remarkably little effort on my part. Totally unfair for them, of course, but very nice for me.
During my early years of college in engineering school I used my brain-space to store physics formulas and calculus rules. Later when I transferred and became a theology major I gave mental room to various verses and heresies, virtues and sacraments. In the course of my electives I memorized Latin conjugations, historical dates, philosophical precepts. It was good.
Little did I imagine how quickly after my college graduation I would quit all that academic stuff and start devoting room in my brain to: “This tiny hippopotamus has something small to say…
As a mother I appreciate my memory even more than I did as a student. I can recite enough of Camilla’s books to keep her contented for a good half hour, which is very useful in the car. It is also handy when I am exhausted and she wants me to read to her; I’ve ‘read’ plenty of books through closed eyes while she turned the pages. (Although this particular tactic has the drawback that I tend to trail off in the middle of sentences, and she catches on.)
If you have a child who likes to be sung to, it can be helpful to have a good memory so that you can have plenty of songs in your arsenal. At least, I imagine this could be helpful; my particular child always demands the same two or three songs over and over.
Many years in the future when my children are grown, I guess I’ll find a new use for my memory, assuming it’s still functional after the strain of raising children takes its toll. But for now, it’s Seuss and Boynton all the way.
What do you use the space in your brain to store?
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