I realised I did it the earring way too but not quite like her. I did it the way I store earrings which, by the way, I am very fond of. I have loads of them and have a box with squares to store them too. However barely any two of a pair are in the same box. They are all together in one big jumble along with bracelets, bangles and what not. If there is some vague organisation it would be in order of how much I love them and how often I wear them. So the gold-diamond-garnets might be in the same box as one I picked up at the roadside in Goa.
That’s quite how my memories are stored – here there and all over the place – the good ones and the bad ones all mixed together so it is almost impossible to separate the two. When I pick one up another one comes dangling along and I have no idea which one it might be. A small inconsequential one, might be jumbled up with a large important one like an inane remark someone made years ago at an office party, or the clothes a friend wore a decade ago at a school social or some random interaction at the bus-stop between two people I don’t even know.
Then along comes someone and I begin to dig into this chaos to find something to say. If that someone is a mere acquaintance I’d be tiptoeing around in my head thinking ‘which is a safe memory I can share?’. The conversation will be stilted at best.
However if it’s a friend, I pull them all out pell-mell without worrying. The conversation then comes spilling forth, without a pause, one thing leading to another, stories, thoughts, feelings, emotions all together. And if you’re my kind of friend you’ll probably be doing the same till we’re struggling to get in a word, completing each others sentences, agreeing and disagreeing vehemently, laughing hard, probably annoying people around us and then wondering where the time went.
I might be organized with some memories and messed up with others. I think it depends on the person/situation associated with the memories. Gosh, isn't it crazy how much our head can hold. Imagine having as many earrings 🙂 Email me your street address, please?
Yeah seriously there are too many things up there that we don't even need and maybe even are better without. No choices though! What's there is there. As for the street address – you mail me yours and I'll make some express deliveries.
Mine (of all sorts) are pretty organized, but who says the jumbled-up way is not at all interesting!
Keep collecting more and more and enjoy them later.
I don't think there's any good or bad here Alok but somehow being organised sounds better :-). That said I wouldn't have mine any other way.
I am pretty organised when it comes to materialistic things, but I don't think we can exercise any control over our memories. What a perfect analogy, Tulika. 🙂
The analogy came from Pins and Ashes. I do hope she's reading this. I simply took it forward from where she left off.
Great description. I am pretty organized i guess 🙂 In thoughts mostly..
Never really thought on those lines but then as you described earrings – I have never lost one *touch wood* 😛
That's wonderful Parul. Since I did this post I've been reminded to get those earrings organised as part of my Diwali cleaning ;-P
🙂 oh boy my memories are all over the place but logged and I have quick access to each one of them I even have a 1mm by 1mm square box to hold the memories with my enemies also.
I treasure mine and GUARD them carefully .. because I feel that memories are something that is left behind always ..
Bikram's
Lol 1mm by 1mm for enemies – this I like!
for me memories are tangled and jumbled together but they are a beautiful and treasured mess! 🙂
That's for sure – memories are priceless even the not-so-good ones.
My wardrobe.. a complete mess.. jewelry box mess again.. shoes..!! Do I need to say it ?
Once in a blue moon I find time to make it all organized and after doing it.. it feels ecstatic..!! And then the same story continues! But one thing that is safe and sound are the memories.. be it in my head or the cards I've been receiving since childhood.. the special gifts, photographs..!! They mean so much to me..
And this was such a lovely post Tulika 🙂
Cheers
Thank you Geets. My wardrobe is a mess too and I'm quite ashamed of it but it's hard to keep everything organised all the time.
I like the way you related the storing of trinkets to memories…I haven't thought about how I store mine…that's food for thought!
That analogy came from Pins and Ashes' blog. I just built upon it.
Have just added the Follow by email button 🙂
Thank you so much!
Great.
Loved your take! Memories for me are all associated with all senses 🙂
Thank you Magiceye. Sure memories are about the senses – a smell, a song or a touch can bring on a deluge.
Makes me sound like a spic and span person, even in the head.. I should perhaps add that little details, that the earring compartments are not watertight, the partitions have false bottoms 🙂 Thank you Tulika for continuing the thread 🙂
I need to thank you for getting me back to writing. Had been drawing a blank for sometime.
pleasure is all mine Tulika 🙂
I love this analogy! I think I tend to be rather jumbled myself.
Some amount of jumble is inevitable, isn't it?
Very aptly described Tulika! The spouse can never understand how a mention of some relative could suddenly make me move the subject to palak paneer – but the subjects were all connected in my head ;).
You got it!!! That's exactly what happens.
Indeed tangled are my memories too! Sometimes on a good day comes a bad memory and on a bad day comes the good ones… just like life huh
The good and bad all mixed together – just like life. Right Meena.
Or we end up chatting for hours until the fish eyes and cacti hugs spring out 🙂 Such a vivid description of memories 🙂
Thanks Shailaja. Lol cacti hugs are special.
Now that's something I never thought about. It's quite crazy up there… in the head – mixed, tangled… I guess the bad ones come up only when the husband forgets an important date 😛
Ha ha… Raj that I can well understand.