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10 Things I NEVER Want to Forget
Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 12:00AM I was participating in this week's 3WW (ThreeWordWednesday) challenge, when I read this piece entitled, Distant Apology by blogger Myrtle Beach Ramblings. It was a very intense piece of writing on Alzheimer's and it got me thinking about things I never want to forget. I thought I could simply make a list of ten concisely, but I couldn't!
I think this is a great exercise even if you don't have Alzheimer's (along with a Tsunami) down as one of your greatest fears. Ahh... greatest fears...that is another blog for another day. Honestly I would prefer to forget nothing, so some categories are a bit longer than others...
So here goes:
1. The way I used to play space invaders with my Pomeranian under blanket tents and t.v. tables when I was little.
2. The day my father left. The first time I traveled with crayons and an American Airlines pin to see him in Puerto Rico alone (it was my first right of passage as an independent travelin' gal). My cousins showering (with soap) in rain storms, drinking juice from the center of red flowers and making lizard earrings. My father eating raw clams. My brothers and their fearless passion for life. Every tint and shade of the color green that exist in the universe blanketing Puerto Rico.
3. NYC East 92nd St., Central Park Carousel, my single mom working as a superintendent playing ironing with me and letting me use the baby powder as "starch spray". My Barbie hotel with elevator and our claw-foot bathtub in the kitchen.
4. School - Luis Armstrong (Junior High), walking down the hallway singing OHOH Here She Comes- She's a Man Eater!!(the Hall & Oates song) with Shireen and ???(oh, oh -its starting, I forgot the other girl's name).
High school A&D; being nominated one of the five best fictional writers for writing non-fiction, Attending Lehman college summer writing program with Randall and Scott. High-school friends that I cherish though we have become estranged...
Ahh college...I don't want to forget any part of my entire Ohio, Antiochian experience...even the breakdowns, dances, traveling to Europe, motorcycle rides or music gigs...especially not the painting, sculpting, performing and writing. Professor Pat Linn and her family. The day I met my housemates in Grad school- Baltimore MD, especially the one that turned out to be my husband. Eating sushi with fellow artist's Steve Fox and Ce Scott. The Visionary Museum & the Inner Harbour.
5. Glass-blowing in Maine and two phenomenal trips to Pilchuck in Seattle, the time Annie picked me up in a hot red convertible Fiat.
6. Being a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, intimately living among artistic mastery.
7. My grandmother. My grandmothers Upper East Side apartment (our family home), living there with her and Jaz.
8. My year-long courting. The blue/green of my husband's eyes and eyelashes. The most aesthetically beautiful day- my wedding. My most fantastical trip - my honeymoon.
9. Delivering Santa's custom letters through the fireplace flue to my niece Lindsay and my nephew Dylan.
10. My first home. My four-legged children: Maya's face, fur, paws, eyes, body weight and heart-wrenching howl. Chulo's hello-cry, his long lashes, the fan of his tail, his unquenchable love, attachment and stalker-like concern.
Ultimately, its the laughing, loving and living that becomes sacred and we hope indelible. What are your top 10 things you never want to forget? Try making more than one list - one for events, one for people, and one for sensual experiences - where your five senses were overwhelmed.
Reader Comments (7)
hmmm...10 things I never want to forget. My families' christmas times together, anything my grandparents ever told me or shared with me, the smell of maya's fur, the feel of chulo's paws on me, the smell of the north country in the summer and in the winter, and how my nostrils freeze together trying to capture that winter smell, the sunsets of every place I have ever lived, the sound of my wife breathing when she sleeps, the sound of my niece and nephew laughing uncontrollably, the sense of comfort from the complete darkness of the world without artificial light, the feel of my fingers becoming one with graphite, have I hit 10 yet?
1. My brother, and every birthday where we would wake eachother up at 12am and exchange gifts.
2. my grandparents old shore house-english muffins with butter every morning at 6am and then fishing with pop. afternoons stealing tomatoes from Big Ed's overgrown garden. Pretending the aligator float in the pool was real and saving eachother from it.
3. Lower school, and everything that ever happend there.
4. eating gumdrops and watching desperate housewives with my dad
5. driving across the country with my mom and the dogs. eating grits for the first time in kansas, driving through an ocean of wheat and corn fields. Seeing the giant rocky mountains appear out of nowhere for the first time and then hiking/horseback riding up them.
6.laying in the middle of a field in fort lee, being eaten alive by mosquitos, watching the fireworks with Ryan and friends.
7.riding up and down elevators with laura for three hours
8.traveling to europe-being lost for hours in the maze that is venice, standing on the top of the duomo, eating gelato everyday for lunch.
9.every trip to disney world-tigger toast, tower of terror, its a small world.
10. My dogs. Ajax sleeping in my bed everynight, pushing me into the corner and stealing all my blankets. Ginger stealing my food, and her soft fur and goofy bat-ears.
Great list! I think I need to think about mine...not sure I can limit it to just 10 things!!
I found your blog after you made such a nice comment on my "Passion" story. I was going to tag you for this "7 random things about me" meme but here you've already just written such a wonderful list of memories! So participate only if you want to. In the meanwhile, I'll enjoy reading here and looking at your artwork.
What a wonderful list. I feel your passion for life, for Puerto Rico, for family. I feel I get to know you better every time I visit. I like how personal your blog is.
What amazing memories, Amaretto. Thank you for sharing.
I think it is one of the reasons I continue blogging: writing things down so I don't forget.
The ten things I never want to forget because they taught me that life is full of surprises and that even the smallest of events can stay with you forever 1) Holding my mother's hand for the last time 2) the New Year's eve when I decided I would be alone and it did not bother me anymore 3) the two nights later when I met my husband (isn't life a hoot?)4)our wedding day 5) when I drew a cockroach for 4th grade science and everyone was amazed 6) when our beloved Doberman "Coffee" attacked a police officer instead of the person who was trespassing in our yard! 7) when my younger sister and I decided to be best friends 8) when I got accepted to Penn State early decision at the age of 16 with a full tuition academic scholarship---my mom always told me I would get a scholarship 9)when I decided to re-enter the Catholic Church and the day I completed my sacraments at the age of 27 10)when I used to believe that Santa Claus really came and delivered presents at midnight on Dec 24th---thanks to my older siblings and parents for making the holidays special!