libraford:

One thing I urge adults to unlearn is the stigma surrounding forgetfulness.

Perfect memory retention is rare. A faulty memory can be the result a host of mental illnesses, from ADHD to PTSD. It’s not a sign that someone wasn’t listening. I have a friend that has a four year gap in her memory due to trauma. I have another with poor short term memory retention because that’s one of their autism symptoms.

Your brain can also trick you into misremembering things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve remembered putting my keys somewhere and unearthed them in a completely different place. I have to remind myself what my birth date is because I said it wrong once and now the wrong date is in my memory forever. I have to come up with mnemonics for birthdays, anniversaries, and events because my brain doesn’t do numbers for some reason.

I see people bicker about forgetting a person’s favorite food or what their mothers favorite color. I think it’s important to forgive people who forget easily.