In moments of boredom during a few days off with vertigo and “flu-like symptoms” the past few weeks, I engaged in a long overdue task of recovering posts from various former sites and archiving them here on my blog. In the processes I discovered that this week marked the 20th anniversary since my cousin in Germany passed awa . I often think of my cousin and his passing at only 22 years of age… I wonder how his parents are doing… I wonder whether we would have had a chance to meet in person, just as I have with other cousins I’ve connected with via the internet in the years since. It struck me that if not for my post on my blog 20 years ago, I wouldn’t know when the anniversary was/is… sure I’ll never forget his passing, but the details were lost to me but for the record. This is true of a lot I’ve written here and elsewhere… be they previous versions of this blog, or collaborative blogs I contributed to, or in my Moleskins etc. Memory is a funny thing, and things you think you’ll never forget, fade away over time. It’s nice to have things that you can refer to, to remind yourself… or to share with others.
Anyway, this event, and the rabbit holes of reminiscence I explored while resurrecting Australian Blog Awards post from the past, have made me realise I need to write more… more often, more regularly, about more. I’d like to record my experiences, share my thoughts, share what I know at 50 that I didn’t at 26 when I started this blog. This made me think, I should write a list like the Wear Sunscreen poem/song. That’s what I might do here… short paragraph long pearls of wisdom I wish I could share with a younger me… or things I hope my kids will listen to, but probably won’t.
This first one… write things down. Because you WILL forget even the things you think you won’t. You might remember the general gist, or some details, but the details will be all a blur like the words on a page are when you’re my age and don’t have your reading glasses. Write it down.