Anticipating the End of 2020

I’m eager to rip the December 2020 page off the calendar. I could simply toss what’s left of it, but no way. I'm going to make a big deal of seeing the old year out as the new one enters. It needs a big yank with a stern grip, then a tight wadding into a ball to toss twenty times into the trash can, with some dunks and slams thrown in for effect. The unveiling of the 2021 version will be with much reverence, pomp and circumstance, even if from my own living room with only the computer screen for company to comply with COVID-19 suggestions. That is a month away, however, so I will ‘hold my horses’ for now. In the meantime, I am obsessing about my temperature, weight gain and availabiity of antibacterial wipes and toilet paper in pandemic dips and turns more dizzying than those on 160W.

Another obsession is trying to keep up with the latest in mind-boggling brain research - the research printed for us non-medical, non-scientific folks. Memory information catches my gaze first as I skim the tables of contents in these printed publications. My mother lost her memory many years before she took her last breath. Will I? It isn’t a given. Children have vivid visual memories before they have words, and when they get words, memories morph. Details can be lost, sometimes reappearing in varying versions based on suggestions and stories from others. My siblings and I have discussed memories of the same house/neighborhood/events that differ significantly. Who’s to say which of us is wrong with no written or oral record to verify? Some begin to lose bits of episodic memory as early as their 20’s. This doesn’t begin to happen for others till the ripe ‘young’ decade of their 60’s.

As much as we might want to forget what we are living through, we can’t just yet. Our children and grandchildren will have questions about 2020. Even if they lived through it, memories will vary based on ages and emotions.

To get a valid representation for future reference, consider keeping a journal. I am considering creating a bullet journal with my own set of emojis, dots and dashes. If you share a roof with young children, get them to draw pictures for you, then write down the stories they share about them. Chidren about 8 or 9 may want to write their own contributions to a family pandemic scrapbook or box. Teens may cooperate if you can print their texts or tweets. Include headlines/articles from the Prospect-News. What a treasure for THEIR children and grandchildren!

I look forward to starting another collection of memories for post-pandemic times! I will be masking up and buckling down to spread holiday cheer in new ways to try to speed up the arrival of those times. Can hardly wait to pack masks away, to rip up tape lines on retail floors and to hug my family and friends! Help me hold my horses long enough!