Remembering

There are some days I have trouble remembering if I have gotten out of bed.  OK.  It may not be that bad, but you know what I mean.  If it is just not that important, it is easily forgotten.

If you want to know what is going on in the world, I am the wrong person to ask.  I peruse the news reports and relegate most of it to the trash heap.  I've told people that when they put a red phone next to my bed, then I will worry about carrying my cell phone and actually having it turned on.

Today they are asking on the internet 'Where were you when the Challenger disaster occurred?'  It used to be that they asked 'Where were you when Kennedy was shot' (getting on the school bus to go home from class).  I guess that there are too few younger people who have an answer, so now it is a question more relevant to my children.

I was totally unaware of the 1986 disaster until I arrived a pre-school to pick up my youngest son.  I had been out running errands, not listening to news radio, obviously.  When I got to Ealy School, everyone was gathered around crying.  When I asked what had happened, I was chastised for being uninformed.  Was I not watching TV all morning?  No.  Was I un-American?  No.  I just had other things to do with my time.  Being a stay-at-home mom did not mean I ate bon-bons and watched TV while my children were in school.

The thing is, I can probably remember very little of what happened in 1986, up until I started back to college for my MBA in the fall.  Even then, I cannot remember any particular day of an event.  But, I do remember walking into that school that day and seeing all those sad faces.  Especially the children.

So, I remember where I was when Kennedy was shot, and the Challenger disaster, and getting ready for work with the TV on the Today Show when 911 happened.  And sometimes I wish I didn't.