Aging is different from the other developmental stages in life, and its uniqueness should be honored.
Past good memories are like pictures frozen in time. So clear, they sparkle like sunshine.
My Wedding
Dancers and yoga practitioners stand the true test of time. It does not seem to matter how old they are, they can still dance flexibly!
I remember that sapphire blue crushed velvet tux that my husband wore at our wedding 41 years ago. I am no longer married to him, but 41 years is a long time to remember things as clear as day. Since that time, I have been married 2 times! I am not proud of my track record for relationships, but most endings were not completely my fault, or not my fault at all, ( and number 3 is a charm.)
For me, that first one is the clearest!
This seems to be the bonus of aging. Those past memories are so very clear. And when my children ask, I can bring out the pictures, and they can see the shiny blue velvet:
His jacket was shiny crushed velvet blue with a black lapel. Today, it would be considered ugly, but back then in the seventies crushed velvet was the in thing, just like saying “hey man” instead of hello as a greeting used by many baby boomers.
I remember the small blue daisies on my white dress that matched the crushed blue velvet of the tux, and my sister standing beside me in a powder blue floral dress with a large blue rimmed hat.
Crushed Velvet was everywhere in my world: In different colors of red and gold
That soft crushed velvet was everywhere in my childhood home, on the wallpaper in red throughout my parent’s dining room, and in gold in the living room. The living room had golden people statues holding up lamps and large cherub mirrors in gold leaf. A gold leaf round real marble table adorned the living room with a chocolate brown shag carpet.
I remember getting yelled at for touching the red velvet wallpaper, but it was so very tempting that I had to feel its softness. Back in the 60’s that wallpaper was expensive, but today it is considered outdated. Even vintage collectors feel that velvet is not worth preserving.
As you age the memory for present events fade more than those of the past. It is just the way it is.
Do not worry too much about your losses unless your present memory settles into not remembering how to get back home from a very familiar place that you go to all of the time. Then you may have a problem that may be Alzheimer’s.
Consider yourself lucky when you start to delve into your past with a smile. The clarity of a past good memory helps us to settle down and reminisce with others who were there too!
The Stress Factor
As for the youngsters who think they are losing their memory, it is probably stress related.
In youth, stress can cause the lose your keys, not remember an appointment, or someone’s name, but they are just minor annoyances.
Find ways to be at peace with yourself so that your memory system works well. Trying dancing, it may be just the thing to do to preserve yourself in mind, body and soul.