That's what the experts say...

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you! John Irving
John Irving is one of my favorite authors...look him up...he's got good stuff, but let's get to the point, his quote. It's true. Your memory is a bit like a monster. Memories of days gone by, or love lost, or promises broken can sneak up on you at the strangest times. Just when you thought you'd forgotten the good, the bad or whatever...your memory brings it up at the grocery store, or in your car, or at the mall, or when you're getting your nails done. Suddenly, you're forced to remember. You have no choice. It's playing like a movie with no stop button. It plays over and over for a while. You beg yourself to forget, but it's impossible. Your memory found this clip and it won't let go. So you're forced to endure, forced to be taken back to a time you're not sure you want to be in. Forced to remember how he smells, how he feels, and how he left. Forced to remember how he made you smile, and how he made you cry. Forced to relive the butterflies and the heartbreak. You have no choice. Your memory took you here and it won't let you go.

Why is it, you think, that our memory betrays us? Does it know something we don't? Is it trying to show us something we missed? Should we pay closer attention this time through, catch more details? Would that make us understand more? Or is the lesson deeper, something we'll not understand until the memories are accepted. Something not fully grasped until we realize these memories aren't meant to hurt us. They're simply moments in time with someone we love, moments that may sting now, but surely moments we'll someday treasure.

At least that's what the experts say...