My mom was laying on my bed today reading Donald Miller's latest book that I just got when he came to town. He starts out talking about how little of our lives we remember. I realized how true that is and it made me sad. Most people do not remember many details or events, just the big things. I feel like I remember less than normal even because my memory is not exactly the greatest.

I think it makes me sad not because I don't remember the really important, big events in my life but because I don't remember the small things, the good feelings or the random insightful thoughts. Yes, every once in a while I have an insightful thought but I never write them down so I don't remember. I should right them down.

I wish I remembered how I felt when I sang "I'm just a girl who can't say no" as Ado Annie in Oklahoma in the 4th grade. I wish I remembered how I felt when rode my bike for the first time or first experienced a thunderstorm. I don't remember. I wish I remembered the first time I met my best friends, the smell of Yosemite or my detailed thoughts of my trip to Honduras. I really need to write things down. I did when I was in the airport on my way to DC recently and I was glad. Most of them were not worth sharing (although I did anyways), but I am glad I wrote them down. How else will I remember them.

My mom reading this led us to discussing my first childhood memories. It is hard to distinguish sometimes because I have seen pictures from when I was little and think I have memories or there are things we did many times throughout my life that we did when I was little so it is hard to know.

My mom thinks I only remember the bad things. We decided it was because they were so out of the ordinary that they stick out. One of my first memories is there was a hurricane coming for Houston. We were all prepared with water in the tubs and our trees tied down. My mom, brother and I were sitting on our slanted driveway watching it come in. It was that eerie calm before a big storm. My mom and brother went inside and I am sure they did not actually leave me out there but that was how it felt. I was scared. How in the world can I remember so many details of that and yet I cannot remember anything besides the front of our first house and its drive way.

Mom did not like that as my first memory so she reminded me of all the treasure hunts we had and the goldfish/tea parties we had for all our stuffed animals. We decided the stuffed animal party would be my first memory. Although, now I am thinking it might have been our first cat Chris. She belonged to our neighbor but we fed her so she gave her to us. I remember laying on her on our driveway before she was even ours. I think that will be my first memory. :)