Too Much Stuff

One would think that long, beautiful summer days would offer up the perfect recipe for soul searching and blog writing. This morning we finally exited the hottest days in years and awoke to a crisp 50⁰ paradise. What a perfect day for reflective meditation.
 
Yeah, right. My brain has left on hiatus. The most interesting thought in my head is whether I should have beef or chicken for dinner. And I cannot even decide about that.
 
There were times in my life when calming an over-active brain was not only next to impossible but unwanted. I thrived on unrelenting intellectual challenges. It was my trademark. I was a brainiac who could run like the wind without pause or hesitation. The thought of “selling my soul” for a quiet morning of peaceful repose never even sparked a cerebral twinge.
 
And oh boy, did I have a memory. As a kid, I could study the night before a test and literally flip the pages in my mind during the exam to find answers. Some might have called that photographic memory. But my “photographs” were short-lived. Retention of the information was not part of that talent.
 
As an adult, I had a knack for names, faces, and details. I could recognize a client I had not seen in years, call them by name, and ask how their three kids were doing (with names and ages). That was indeed a gift. And, I seldom had to be taught something more than once. I learned extremely fast.
 
But times change. How many of you remember the “ShamWow?” It was one of those “As Seen on TV” gadgets – a chamois that advertised it could hold ten times its weight in liquid. Commercials showed it soaking up what appeared to be major industrial-sized spills in the sweep of a hand. It was a TV sensation.
 
It also provides the perfect analogy for my memory. I used to be a “ShamWow.” My brain and my memory could soak up what seemed to be infinite amounts of raw data and mindless information and hold it indefinitely. I was a phenomenon. I have now been downgraded to a cheap Dollar Store sponge. I am lucky if I remember what I had for breakfast. Learning new tasks now requires intense documentation and focused study.
 
So, while I was trying to write about something of meaning and consequence this morning, all that came to mind was why don’t I have any poignant thoughts worth sharing? I believe my new job is the culprit. My Dollar Store sponge is saturated with “stuff”, and I cannot afford to squeeze it to make room for more “stuff” until the current “stuff” is durably etched in my brain. Good grief, gang. That is as poignant as it gets today.
 
I am smiling though. We all know that loss of memory is a function of age. I had the joy of discussing this with the father of a dear friend this past week who deals with memory issues when he humorously corrected me with the biggest grin: “It is more of a misfunction of age, don’t you think?” Our brains are national treasures, and he is proof. Ah, but that is fodder for yet another rant.
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