What's the worst thing you have ever forgotten?

[Anonymous]

I forgot to tell someone that their relative was in the hospital. I mean, how do you forget something like that?? And how do you explain to someone that it’s not that you don’t realize how important it is, or that you don’t care…it’s just that you have no way of locking data into your short term memory!

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[Patte Rosebank]

That’s why I carry a little notepad and a pen. If it’s something important, I write it down.

If it’s REALLY important, I make a note on my hand, so I can’t miss seeing it!

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[Anonymous]

I like to use Instapaper for saving sites and readings for later. This prevents me from opening up too many tabs (I usually operate with more than 20 open!) and gives me a place so that things can’t get lost. Once you register, you can add the “read later” button to your bookmark toolbar. I can then schedule some time when I’m going to read all the fabulous things I’ve archived. Here’s the link: http://www.instapaper.com

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[Anonymous]

” it’s not that you don’t realize how important it is, or that you don’t care…it’s just that you have no way of locking data into your short term memory! “

Thank you, eringunsinger. That one sentence explains the problem of ADD better than anything I’ve ever read or heard. The process that does that is neither reliable (for us), nor in our control. No amount of “Just do it, just try harder, if you weren’t so lazy and cared more and tried harder you could if you really really wanted to…” is helpful either.

I don’t have one “worst” as such. I took care of my father when he was pervasively frail with several immediately life-threatening problems, in addition to serious chronic problems. One of his doctors aptly described him as ” a house of cards” . There are only so many little pieces of paper you can post before it just becomes clutter. I had so many lists that I had a master list of the master lists – literally, not hyperbole. Being a non-linear thinker and being able to hyper-focus both served me well doing this. But the sheer complexity and enormity of what I had to keep track of at all times – the tests and ongoing evaluations and procedures I had to do, the complex and variable medication regimen, co-ordination of appointments, scheduling etc – defeated me again and again, and even a small screw up could potentially result in horrible pain, irreversible consequences or even death for him. Even now, years after his death, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night in a panic that I’ve forgotten something important he urgently needs. I’m usually out of bed and into the hall at a dead run before I snap out of it.

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[Anonymous]

The worst thing I did I forgot I was with my husband and we were in Mic Mac Mall three story high shopping mall. He went for a hair cut and

i forgot he was with me because he had left and I started to shop around. I got tired decieded to head home, after getting into the car to head

out I remeber that I was with him. Clamdigger

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[Anonymous]

Clamdigger, that literally had me laughing out loud. Soooo familiar. There’s just no helping it, unfortunately. It’s part of our hard-wiring. The sad thing about it is how these lapses so badly undermine our feelings of self-worth. In a world that prizes competence, sharpness, efficiency, and above all reliability, it’s so hard to not feel hurt when you know that others see your shortcomings in this area as stupidity bordering on mental retardation.

Skunk, I’m so sorry to hear that. The irony would be funny if the situation was only hypothetical. It’s a bit like handing a one-legged man a pair of running shoes and telling him that if he doesn’t run ten miles to the nearest payphone someone is going to die. You do what ya gotta do, but in your head you keep thinking, “This is just so wrong!”

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[Anonymous]

One of my worst so far was forgetting about a friend’s wedding reception. They did a destination wedding and a local reception.

I also forgot about our child birth class until it was half over, but that wasn’t a big deal.

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[curlysue]

Hey i lost my car three times in one day, twice in the same parking lot. and no i did not move it.

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[Anonymous]

i have just forgotten to buy anything for tea tonight and forgot to make my husbands tea after spending an hour at supermarket doing shopping for week <3 ooopppss

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[Anonymous]

One nite I went outside to see if the stars were out. There was going to be a meteor shower. I let my three dogs out with me. I became distracted looking at the stars. I called the dogs in while my mind was wandering. once again became distracted. Bout ten minutes later called the dogs to give them a treat & realised that I left one outside. A small cavalier king charles spanial. I was up all nite looking for her. Called animal control next morning. Thank God someone saw her wandering down the street & dropped her off at animal control the next morning. After that I installed a wireless fence because that was not the first time i forgot one of the dogs. The other 2 were smart enough to stay in the yard and bark until i let them in. Another time I was running late & was very frustrated because I couldnt find my car keys. After searching the house I realised I had them in my hand the whole time.

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[Anonymous]

dogman…

I’ve done the exact same thing with my car keys. I even switched them from one hand to the other before I realized I had them in my hand the whole time. I still get a chuckle out of that one.

I did forget to pick someone up from the airport once. That wasn’t as funny.

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[Anonymous]

That made me think of the other month…

I was going to pick up my son and my friends two kids from school. We were going back to her house until her husband got out of work. I got almost to her house when I started freaking out that I had forgotten my keys. That sounds normal right? I was so freaked out, until I turned off the car, pulled my keys out of the ignition and started walking. It finally hit me that I had my keys with me the whole time, the reason they weren’t in my pocket was because I was using them.

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[Ivriniel]

I once lost my class’s report cards, the day before they were due to go home.

I had to print them out again, and have my VP sign them again. Turns out they were in my backpack. I’d put them in there so I could stuff them into the envelopes later, but I completely forgot. I found them in the evening.

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[Anonymous]

I guess this comes under the heading of the worst thing you’ve forgotten but in a different way…

True story..a bit off track but here goes

About 15 years ago was I accosted at gunpoint (a beretta) near the subway by two young punks.

They were yelling, screaming and asking me if I wanted a ‘piece of this’…waving the gun in my face.. I don’t know if they were cracked out or what.. I was rooted to the spot and couldn’t move. It was weird, I felt no emotion at all. Zombified…

My husband was nearby in the car and calmly walked over to where we were, took me by the elbow and walked me slowly away to the car. The punks realized that were were getting in the car, ran over and started banging on the driver’s window with the butt of the gun and screaming at us. We took off, no damage done to me or car.

Looking back, I realize that it wasn’t loaded, that they were getting their jollies from terrorizing me.

The next day, I cried all day just from the stress.

However, I have only remembered this from time to time….completely forgot about it soon after it happened for years..not supressing it by any means, just forgetting it. When I do remember, it’s like “Wow..can’t believe I forgot about that..did that really happen??’

You’d think that something like that would make an impression on you..hmm…

Now where are my keys??

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[Anonymous]

MerryMac, I can totally relate. It’s almost like as soon as a thing has lost its relevance to the here and now, we dispose of it. We “archive” it – so we can remember it if someone else mentions it – but it’s like we remove the memory tags from it and just stow it in long-term storage, filed under “probably will never use again”. So we learn from our experiences (usually) and discard them. Probably a useful skill when you think about it.

Then again it makes me look like an idiot when a doctor asks me if my kid has ever had this illness or that injury, and if so when? Hell if I know! After they’ve healed up from it, I forget. “Has your son ever had a serious injury.” “Nope, nothing I can think of.” “Uh…I broke my leg when I was 5, Mom.” “Well…you didn’t define ‘serious!'” Nice comeback there, Erin. *blush and rolling eyes*

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