The state of my memory has always been pretty consistent: Absolutely *horrible* short-term memory, pretty *outstanding* long-term memory.

![0585-Tofte.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/241QP8ukU1avW8iwW6P7PEbJX22APsEmGnwhc4ZziYLjSTuGpVeAeLLDFpkmYZuqTtuRD.jpg)
*My aunt's house, circa 2011*

I can tell you who wore what, what we had to eat, what the weather was like and who won the card games at a 1973 family gathering, but I can't remember the four things I had to remember to write down three minutes ago, before embarking on finding a piece of paper to write them down on!

Hence, I've always been very grateful for *writing,* because it offers me a way to *"brain dump"* without the pressure of *having to* remember something.

My memory was no different when I was young... which always caused me some trouble around exam time in high school and college, because my only semi-effective way to remember the material was the *read it* over and over and over and over... and that was basically a pain in the rear.


![0585-MockOrange.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23x14iJ3znTVXSWEUGRnPEaj7DEc4BQxxvvP78WpiYSqekqCqAxp2cocpYWXScYKvk8XJ.jpg)


All that said, sometimes very old memories *"suddenly appear,"* seemingly with no provocation. There I am, maybe scrambling a couple of eggs... and *"magically"* I'm recalling digging a hole for a pond in my former grandmother-in-law's garden.

Trust me, that has *nothing* to do with scrambling eggs!

*(That was just an example... it didn't actually happen today...)*

I suppose it serves as an ongoing reminder that the human mind and psyche are pretty much unfathomable. I'm sure *some* of it can be attributed to the fact that — as we continue to age — we have more and more experiences *behind* us, and fewer and fewer *ahead* of us. Something mildly sobering about that thought... although I actually have no great desire to *"go adventuring."*


![0056-Butterfly.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23vi26fG96XQKekPNZiyS4ujbJ6BxgUAcxGhdDzKxkrVzFsZPigsWCvceyWyYNrNseRvE.jpg)


Anyway, *today* I had a sudden memory — I *think* prompted by the ticking of the toaster oven timer — of sitting in the great room in my Auntie's summer house playing one of the many small *"puzzle games"* she kept around for whenever children came visiting. 

Her house is one of the very *few* constants in my life; I was there as a baby... and regularly till recent times; even though my auntie is long passed, the house lives on as a sort of *"family timeshare."* 

But this was a very *specific* snippet of memory of playing a little game where you had to roll a tiny silver ball onto a small rickety see-saw *"bridge"* that had a tiny hollow in the center. I would concentrate and concentrate, but my hands just didn't seem steady enough, until this one day where I suddenly *"got it."*

A strange feeling of accomplishment came over me.


![0585-GreatRoom.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23uFPqTwyczeRRK6oFK8ttZKJ44NMvLjWGxZsrNnohtgEyFHMJ5sUEGfwNuXqdAJojao4.jpg)
*I was sitting just inside those windows...*

And then I did what I pretty much *always* did as a kid. I quietly set the *"solved"* game down, and went outside to sit and look out across the lawn. No crazy running through the house to *"tell an adult"* what I had managed to do, no big excitement. Just a quiet sense of accomplishment I kept to myself. 

It was a warm day, and outside I could hear the grasshoppers in the long grass. I watched ants go about their business on the sun-warmed red brick of the terrace... and distinctly remember feeling a moment of genuine *stillness* in what otherwise seemed like a very chaotic and loud world. 

As I reflect on that small moment in time, I recognize that it was one of those things I didn't even *know* I had somehow remembered; somehow stored away in long-term memory. 


![0502-Lavender.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23uQmzTDRUYQaHxH3VBW11tK9utk3gpi7Ub32Brrq6pUZHpWVJRrF8UJZ8uGqV53yA9kr.JPG)


In spite of actually living a pretty peaceful and quiet life, I sometimes *miss* that level of quiet... somehow, it was a *simpler* world, then. Of course, I was maybe *eight* at the time... but still.

Anyway, makes me wonder whether that particular puzzle game — which was already *old,* 50 years ago — is still in the big toy trunk at my auntie's old house.

I'll have to look, next time we make it back to Denmark... although I wonder whether these less steady aging hands are still capable of balancing that tiny steel ball on the rickety bridge!

Thanks for reading, and have a marvelous remainder of your holiday weekend!

***How about YOU? Do you experience sudden seemingly random memories, for no reason at all? What do you think the reasons ARE? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!***

![HivePanda.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/nnhCakFg-Hive-Panda.gif)

<hr>

*Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and* ***[learn about Hive and make an account!](https://peakd.com/register?ref=denmarkguy)***

<p><center>
<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/Qc01EJMw-PeakD-Hive.jpg">
</center></p>

<p><center>
Proud member of the <a href="https://peakd.com/c/hive-106316/created">Silver Bloggers Community</a> on Hive!
<img src="https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/mondoshawan/23xAs3PPA5FQ7tWo2evAjBtmbqdSSfZGpNkCxr9NPkdJiHkJSz5j3xLxKvhP9NGUMW6Rk.jpg" alt="Silverbloggers Logo" />
</center></p>

*(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT cross posted anywhere else!)
Created at 20220529 00:06 PDT*
***0585/1831***