Retaining Information

I absorb words and stories on a need-to-know basis. If it's important to me, I have some kind of written back up to prompt my memory skills. If it doesn't affect me on a personal level, I simply don't retain excess information (but I know where to find it if I need it).

Lately, Second Son has been calling me on my lack of memory skills. Oddly, I will subconsciously remember something that he has said and then reword it and reiterate it back to him at a later date. He shakes his head (sometimes in jest, other times ... not) and tells me that he was the one who told me that in the first place. To be fair, I have also given him credit to an idea or words that were originally mine. His honesty and bluntness keeps me on my toes.

As I am (somewhat) assisting Second Son with some of his start-up tasks, as he forges into his new business venture, my memory is continually being tested.

All of a sudden, it is important for me to remember the name of the guy who he has been talking to lately (about upcoming work). I could (almost) swear that I wasn't told a name at the onset of this meeting of the minds. Finally, I remembered the name that correlated with this business matter and then Second Son goes and throws this guy's business name at me. He expects me to remember something I've never heard (or have I?).

Then there is the lingo of his work. I have listened to him talk of the logistics of what it is that he does, but I have never been expected to translate that into business correspondence and cover letters. All of a sudden, my motherly interest isn't enough. He 'hired' me as his book keeper. I didn't know that understanding, communicating and writing the language of his work was a requirement (though I'm sure it wouldn't hurt).

Second Son is an observant one. While my mom was here last weekend, he commented on the fact that my mom often looks at me to fill in the word that is on the tip of her tongue. I have a fairly good success rate at that. I'm a wordsmith. All those years of doing crosswords have done wonders for my ability to pull words out of my mind. But actual memory work? Not so much.

I play word games to keep my mind supple. I ballroom dance, which has been noted as an excellent exercise in keeping the mind active and fit. I am a relatively organized person - my house and brain are in pretty good sync with each other (which is one of the many reasons that I'm worried about my closets and drawers that need to be emptied and sorted). I'm going to school and increasing my knowledge base. My brain is busy.

I was once told (and I vividly remember) that it is impossible to be expected to remember everything. It is just as (or more) important to know where to find the answers.

That piece of wisdom has served me well over the course of the past few decades of my life. My brain is a filing cabinet. Even if the file is empty, I know where to find the contents that I need to carry out my duties (isn't Google a wonderful thing??).

As I step out on a brand new ledge with Second Son in this business venture, I will do my best to fill the file folders within my mind with the information that I need to know. But in the mean time, I do believe that I must go and write down that name and business name that I keep forgetting. I'll tell My Son that we should start an address book (memory aid). That will fool him into giving me the information one more time ...