Memories ~~ Are You Sure I Was There?

I was reading a fellow blogger speak of a recent family get together and a story that comes up each time and how different each person recalls the event in question. It got me thinking about how often this happens in my own family as I’m sure it does in yours.

I always say There are three truths to any story. This side, that side and the real one in the middle.

Each truth is as real to the person as if it happened yesterday. Even if the truth is lost back in 1970. Time has added bits and parts to help the story along. Gaps filled in that time has eroded. But when the story is told, it is someone’s truth and they are adamant that it occurred exactly that way.

Both my sisters have steal trap door memories. Mine is more like a saloon door swinging with the wind and tumble weeds.

When my family gets together in any way, shape, or form (in person, via phone, etc) a story from the past is bound to creep in. Don’t you remember when…. is a terrible phrase for me to hear. Terror and panic set in as I’m almost 100% certain I will not have the first clue as to what they will be saying. And when I don’t even have a glimmer in my eye, I know I’m in trouble. I’d like to say I’m only in trouble with my siblings but the reality is, this memory retention issue is way bigger than that. I pretty much suck in any recall other than what impacts me today.

Einstein once said he didn’t memorize anything he could look up. He needed his mind for the bigger issues. Maybe when I heard this years ago I adopted his philosophy and immediately emptied my recycling bin on my memories hard drive.

Sometimes I feel bad that I don’t recall. After all, some of those moments meant something to the other person otherwise why would they even have it floating around in their noggin? And it’s not that they didn’t mean anything to me. Sometimes when they are telling me about it, I do recall and remember some wonderful memories.

Think of it this way, many of my memories are just stored in a box in storage. I felt they were important enough to keep, I just didn’t think I needed to keep them in the house since I probably wouldn’t be needing them tomorrow. I can get to them if I need them.

So, next time you ask me if I recall something, don’t get mad that I don’t recall within the first 5 words. I’m sure they are in there somewhere. You just need to bring a flashlight, a shoehorn and a wee bit of patience.   😀

 

~~~till we laugh again~~~

Before the Fire – The Prequel

First off, thank you to all my Facebook friends for the kind words yesterday after I shared about the house that caught on fire. Today, I thought I’d share what this same house looked like when I picked it up as a flip several years ago. By showing this, maybe you can see why this house just keeps on giving and how I was able to find something to latch onto so that I could laugh vs cry.

As I stated yesterday in my post (I Didn’t Know if I Should Laugh or Cry) I originally purchased this home back in 2007 before the markets tanked. I was going to do a flip with it. The previous owner turned the 2 bedroom into a 5 bedroom. But lost it in a foreclosure. He was so mad at the bank, he let his kids loose to destroy the house in retaliation. 

The following are some of the pictures I took. There was graffiti on most of the walls as you can see. In one room they even outlined a dead body. There was a small knife even stuck in one section of the wall. They filled the tub and toilet with poo and ripped out everything they could.

Walking through the house, all you could do is say the same WOW I was saying yesterday (Although for different reasons). This house made us laugh back then. While it was sad parents thought this was smart to teach their kids it still made you laugh in amazement that someone would go so far. It was another example of laughing when most would find it not the right emotion.

The reality is…What is the right emotion?

To me, the right emotion is the one that helps you get through the tough times in your life. The emotions that are healthy and help you heal. Hopefully, by sharing my story the past few days, I can help others see that sometimes, finding whatever piece of humor you can in the situation might help ease the pain just a little. Hopefully enough to help you make it through.

I’ll keep you all posted… and tomorrow we will resume our normal laughing schedule… LOL

 

~~~till we laugh again~~~~~~~~

 

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