What Was Your Name Again?

Most mornings I write a blog post and by nightfall I can't remember if I wrote one, or if I did, what it was about. I also rarely remember what I had for dinner the night before, yet I can instantly recall the price and the circumstances surrounding the purchase of every item in my vast collection of original paintings, photographs, hand-blown glass pieces and unique ceramics. 

Experts agree that there is a difference between short- and long-term memory, and that short-term memories are more fleeting as we age. I can understand that. But what I can't understand is how I remember minute details about dates with relative strangers I saw just once over 30 years ago but cannot recall one evening spent alone with my first husband, who I was with for 13 years. I have often wondered why this is true and so did some snooping online. Here's what I found at a site called "Ask the Psychologist."

"Under stress we don’t record our memories consistently. High levels of stress often produce prolonged periods of time with little or no memory. Under stress, we can’t retrieve our memories as well. Stress changes body and brain chemistry, making memory recovery difficult."

Thank God we divorced.