The pros and cons of being forgetful

I wrote this on April 8. I’m trying to actually blog all the things I write down during the day.

First off, let’s get something straight. Being forgetful is not the same thing as having a bad memory. Because I have an excellent memory, and I like to brag about it. I probably know when your birthday is. But don’t quiz me, because if I don’t, I’ll be embarrassed that I bragged about it. And then I’ll cheat and go look on Facebook and lie, and then I’ll feel bad, and it will just all be bad.

The point is, I am forgetful.

Being forgetful has a lot of down sides, like making people feel bad when you forget to go to their party, or that they are coming over to Visit Teach you. The worst part of this is making people feel like you weren't excited about their party, and that's why you forgot to go. It always sounds like a lie when you say, "I am SO sad I forgot! I was REALLY excited, I just didn't remember!" But I am here to tell you, it is for reals.

Also a down side when you forget to do something at work. This one is terrifying to me, the prospect of forgetting to do something at work, so my desk has lots of Post-it notes and my Outlook has lots of tasks and reminders. So far I’ve never messed anything up too badly, and I am very relieved.

Another thing about being forgetful is that you do things like show up at the grocery store without any money. This could happen for a myriad of reasons. Maybe you took your wallet out of your purse, then forgot you took it out of your purse, and left the house with the purse thinking the wallet was inside. Or maybe you paid for something, then slid your credit card into the pocket of your jeans (because who has time to put it back in their wallet? WHY do I do that?), then got to the store, opened up your wallet, and THEN remembered that your card is in the pile of clothes next to the dresser.

A while ago I went to the grocery store to buy food and maybe get a Redbox while Chris did homework. I had the envelope of cash marked “groceries,” so when I got my food we were set to go. But then I reached for my card, so as to obtain a movie to watch from the Redbox, and remembered I didn’t have my wallet, just the envelope of cash. So I called Chris and said, “I forgot my wallet. I’m coming home.” When I walked in, he thought I didn’t take ANY money with me, that I had to leave the groceries there, and he was completely calm about it. He was actually surprised that I walked in with groceries, because he thought that’s what I meant when I said I forgot my wallet. And it didn’t even faze or surprise him in the slightest. Jeez, Erin.

This being said, sometimes there are good things about being forgetful.

One of them is that I get EXTRA excited when someone reminds me about an upcoming event or function. It’s like I’m hearing it for the first time all over again, because I’ve forgotten about it!

Another one of the good things is that you find little surprises. Like today, when I went home for lunch, I put a little Nestle Treasures treat into my purse to eat at 3:30 or 4:00 (my usual snack time) once I got back to work. I completely forgot it was there. Then, around 4:30, I reached in my purse for my chapstick, found my toffee and almond delight, and everything was wonderful.