I’m currently working on changing the fireplace in our living room. We have a small Victorian-era terraced house that had the chimney sealed up a long time ago. In it’s place had been a few tiles at the base and an electric stove. So far, we’ve knocked out some bricks to level it with the floor, used Backer Board to level out the old firebox, and applied brick slips to create a rustic looking effect. It’s almost there, and I have my wife to thank for all the great suggestions along the way.
Suggestions that I would sometimes mistake as my own, until she gently reminds me that she mentioned the very same thing 3 days ago. To which she’d be right, she did, and I had simply forgotten.
Fortunately for me, she simply finds it funny most of the time, as I don’t do it intentionally. I’m also glad for the reminder, because it helps me look back on something the way it should be remembered, as the way it actually happened.
It’s also why I enjoy writing. I don’t claim to be any good at it, but I do enjoy storing these thoughts and memories as a keeps sake of sorts – a journal. The thoughts that would otherwise be lost in the stream of time. It’s not to say my current thoughts are important, but they could be, at least to me personally, and writing helps to capture at least of snapshot of how I thought at any one particular time in my life; and considering how I can forget about a key detail in my fireplace renovation within 3 days, who knows what else I could have left behind.
I wouldn’t say I’m the type to dwell on the past, but I do find it a useful point of reference. It’s how we learn and grow; building on top of what we already know. When our long-term memory doesn’t quite live up to the level of detail we often crave, turning to other forms of storing information is incredibly useful.
It’s why we take photos and buy fridge magnets when we travel, why we keep a diary, listen to our favourite songs, and watch our favourite movies, the ones that often mean something to us.
But most importantly, keeping information helps to form a narrative of our life and the world around us which is as accurate as it is consistent. We can remember the person we were and the person we have become. The person that the most important people in our lives can depend on, because we’re mindful of ourselves, our commitments and our motives through the life we’ve lived, as well as the life we intend to shape. A life and a future full of joy and meaning.
In writing this, I’ve made a small stamp in time of what will now be the past. In doing so, I’ve made more of a definitive mark in how I feel about preserving the beautiful memories of my life today. It isn’t something that will be completely lost in the stream of time, as I have a point of reference to look back on, right here. And although our Fireplace antics seem on the whole pretty insignificant, they’re important to me, and it’s just one example I’m sharing in how those small things have the tendency to shift and change in time. I can always remember it the way it should be remembered now, the way it was, and the way it always will be. With my wife being absolutely right!
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