Memories

Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind 

Memories, sweetened thru the ages just like wine.

These two lines are from a song that Elvis Presley sang.  Granted I don't recall the song, but I liked the sentiment.  I have decided to start writing my autobiography.  Hmm?  Yes, it will be a brave undertaking and a bit risky to bare it all!  

A few things have prompted me to start this project and hopefully, this will be a project I can finish some year.  When I have shared a memory of a place I've been or lived, one of my sisters has said, "You need to write this down."  Granted, I don't have any children to share my memories with.  That fact should not and does not prevent me from writing down my life experiences.  Maybe I can have my siblings, nieces and nephews read it.  There have been 25 years that I have not lived near them and some of my memories will be unknown to them. 

Another thing that has prompted me is the Creative Writing group I am participating in at this RV Resort.  Our writings have been focused on memories.  So it seems logical that I have been thinking of a lot of my memories.  The third prompt is a self-help book that I bought last week and the author, Aliza Bloom Robinson has the reader do an mindful exercise.

Step onto the escalator and begin your descent down.  It is an adventure and feels exciting and very safe.  As the escalator takes you down, begin to see your life, like a mural on both sides.  See your current life, the last few decades; see yourself in your twenties and teens.  See your childhood.  You see these times with no judgment, only curiosity and compassion.  Simply notice what you notice.  As the escalator continues its journey, see your infancy, and the time just before your birth in this life time.  See the space between the worlds.

The sentence, "see your infancy, and the time just before your birth" really made me think of how my parents came together and how their personalities and histories framed me and my life with them.  Later, I would share my parents with seven siblings, but as first born I had a privilege and burden of being their one and only for a while.  It was an interesting time and I'm eager to write about it. 

Today, I called my mom to see how she was doing and making sure she was all hunkered-down for the snow storm they are predicting for the Midwest.  So, I took advantage of asking her some questions and verifying things I thought I knew about myself.  

Yes, I was born feet first which explains why I have been on the move ever since!  I weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces when born, but my dad excitedly told all the people on his milk route that I weighed 15 pounds, five ounces.  Just a small detail.  :)   

Speaking of details, my mom told me that the neighbor ladies held a baby shower before I was born.  "There were 38 ladies there."  She told me some of the gifts I got.

When I got off the phone, my hubby said, "How does your mother remember that there were 38 ladies at the shower"  Oh, believe me...she does!  Her mind is list of things, events and after a gathering, she will tell you exactly how many people were in attendance.  Guess what, I have a list of lists in my phone and computer.   Here's some examples:

Grocery List...  no big deal
Blog Ideas....    empty right now
Things to do (in Wisconsin) in 2017
Prayer list
Bucket list
Islands & Central America ... countries we have visited
Cruises ... ships & ports
WWW years and where held
Family Christmas hosts

Oh, there's more!  Just don't want to bore you.

Truthfully, my memory just can't keep all this data in my brain and readily available like it did in my younger days.  So, I have to keep lists.  Maybe, another prompt to writing my autobiography is because no one has been with me through all of my life.  No one has my memories and someday, I may need prompts to remember my own life experiences.  So back to writing I go!