I forget. Just five minutes ago, I dropped my husband at his office and drove away to pick up the children from a birthday party. The car phone rings and it is my husband. He asks me to bring the extra computer monitor and power cable from the basement when I return later to pick him up. Computer monitor and power cable, I repeat. No problem. As I hang up, I repeat it to myself. Computer monitor and power cable. I wonder if I will really remember it when I get home.
I use my faithful prompters to jog my memory. I repeat the items a third time. I mentally imagine the names of the items written out on the everlasting list in my head. I visualize myself walking into the house, heading directly down to the basement to bring the items up, to sit on the counter by the door to wait for my later exit. I associate the computer monitor with a TV screen and make a mental note to think computer monitor when I pass by the household tv.
Surely with all these reminders, I can’t forget. Of course, I do forget quite often. I tell my friends that I love to grocery shop and that I go almost every day to keep fresh fruits and vegetables at my house. In truth, I must go to the grocery store almost daily because I forget items I really need before I go. I make a conscientious effort at creating a grocery list. Then, just as I am halfway home from the store, I will clasp my forehead between my thumb and forefinger and shake my head in irritation as I remember that I forgot paper towels and I must have them. I manage to remember to start a new grocery list the moment I walk in the door.
At home, I am insecure because it happens to me all the time. I will take the car into the shop for a day of maintenance and minor repairs. After retrieving the car, I stop at the first red traffic light and my eye catches the inspection sticker, due to expire the next day, that I have forgotten to have them change. I will do errands at the mall. As I drive out of the parking lot, I realize I forgot to purchase the CD that I have wanted for weeks. At Christmas, the Garden Club delivered my purchased poinsettia to my office. I forgot it until New Year’s. Once I forgot the dry cleaning for about a month, but today I am determined to get it right.
I come into the house. I head to the basement. The computer monitor and power cable are as described. I place them by the door and step back in a moment of pride. Oh my gosh. I cry, fingers clasped around my forehead. I forgot the children.