Memorable

I love U2. This is probably obvious to most of my friends. I've loved U2 since I was in jr. high and high school. I joined Amnesty International. I was pretty oblivious to current events and U2 introduced me to a taste of politics and the world; prior to U2 I'd no idea what apartheid was. I was pretty clueless about most things.

U2 is a most unique band. A friend of mine says he stopped listening after Unforgettable Fire. Even though the band has changed their sound several times, I have embraced it each time. I loved the complexity and poetry of their songs; they make me think. I still don't definitively know what some mean and there are several different interpretations to some. It doesn't matter.

At my Thursday BIble study my friend recommended we memorize Philippians 3:10. I want to memorize a bit before that, as I don't like incomplete thoughts. I'm finding it not nearly as easy to memorize today as I did when I was in jr. high and high school. interestingly, the things I memorized in jr. high and high school I still have memorized. I learned a code then. I still know it. Various Bible verses and chapters: Still can recite them. Which brings us back to U2. At prayer it was mentioned I know all the U2 lyrics. I suppose I attribute much of that to the time of jr. high and high school. It was so effortless then to memorize! I'm not sure if it was because I was constantly memorizing then, not just for church but for drama, and english, and band. Perhaps it was just easier to memorize then because I was memorizing all the time!

In addition to U2's lyrics, I think I know all of Steve Taylor's lyrics as well. I remember hearing him when I was in jr. high.... buying his I Want To Be A Clone tape. listening to it constantly with my friends. I did not understand what it was addressing. I did not get much of his sarcasm. It wasn't until much later that I even started understanding the concepts that he addressed in his songs. Yet even before I understood them, I had them completely memorized. I can't get the lyrics out of my head even today.

It's so funny how so many things fade in time; I can't tell you all the information to the places I lived in the past 10 years. I can't tell you much about the past 10 years; it's all a fast moving whirlwind. Yet, for some reason, I can recall so much about my jr. high and high school years, in vivid detail. Every retreat, the songs we listened to, the times the van broke down, certain songs i can still sing in spanish from the Mission To Mexico trips I went on.

Why is it so different today?

Yes, I now have memorized nearly ever word to U2's album that came out last year. I still can memorize things. I pick up words and phrases and remember much of what I read. (thought at times I can't recall which book it came from or who said it) But the everyday life, the things my kids say or do, it's so easy for me to just dismiss that as the day to day things and not remember.

Oh, I still remember much and realize that I do when memories are triggered. I suppose it's because instead of looking to the past I'm constantly present with my kids, forming new memories. Engaging in new discussions.