Terrible! And I am an only child so there’s no one to remind me!

It depends on the details! My siblings and I, if we put our collective memories together, can patch together things, but none of us remembers everything.

My mother was a twin. Her sister died in her early 70s, and HER daughter had been working with her to record memories for several years and made a little book. At the funeral, the book was out for people to look at. My mom read through it and asked for a pencil to ”correct” some things that ”didn’t quite happen that way”. Her niece told her firmly but lovingly that no, she could write her own memories!

I'm pretty good and so is DD2, but my husband and son are scary good. They are not fun to play trivia with. My elder daughter has a terrible memory, comically bad, but somehow is an excellent student.

I am excellent remembering things from the past. I’m so good my brothers call on me when they need varification of childhood memories.

Like ’where were we going when mom drove the whole way in 2nd gear?’ Answer, it was a Sunday, on highway 54, going to Mass, about 1961, white Chevy. I was correct

My memory is very unreliable.

Most recently, my older sis and I were remembering when our mother bought a brand new Monte Carlo (mid-‘70s) … I was convinced it was orange. Sis says no, it was green. We keep going back and forth, but she’s probably right. I’ll never let her know that, of course.

I do remember our cousin threw up in it the first week my mother had it. :D

My late husband had a perfect memory. He was our gatekeeper for sure. So many times I want to ask him about things. We lived and traveled so many places, so lots of interesting memories … I’m just not clear on specifics.

I would be the worst crime scene witness in history. However, I’m that meme about music lyrics — I can remember every line in old songs like nobody’s business.

It's a mix. I find that some things that made a big impression on my family or friends just didn't make it into my long term memory, and vice versa.

Pretty much. I'm good at dates. I have two complete sets of high school yearbooks, mine and my husband's. We were in the same class, so it's all the same.

When I was in 8th grade I had a horse. I rode him to my BFF's house in a subdivision. When her mom was at the store we thought it would be hilarious to bring him into the family room so that when she opened the door, there would be a horse standing there. Old King was a gentle soul and good sport. Her mom opened the door, took in the situation, and said calmly, "[name], sometimes you don't use good judgment."

Why am I telling you this? I can hear her mom today, word for word.

It is so weird, I have a really good memory most of the time. People comment on it. But then, there are some events or things that happened, I do not recall at all. I can make no sense of why some things just float by me and I forget them. And that frustrates me to no end.

Films ... I forget those practically the minute credits roll.

Trivial Pursuit and such, those are my favorite games ;-)

Sue, I am an only child as well. That aspect, having no one to remind of you things or spark a different memory or to check with is no fun at all.

I am very good at remembering all kinds of details about my childhood. My younger brother and I remember a lot more than my older sister and brother. My best childhood friend lived across the street. I connect with her on FB. I'm surprised at how little she remembers, but her older brother frequently messages me about obscure things from the old days. He has a similar memory to mine.

I don't have the best memory when it comes to my childhood. My sister has the memory of an elephant, just like my dad. LOL

My memories are very spotty. Some ages, I remember very well; others, not at all.

I'm very good with all the little details. I made a great POA/medical for my mother because I knew every prescription she had ever taken and was currently taking, any changes in her primary care givers. I have a SIL who will call me and ask me about things that happened with HER babies when they were small. They are grown men with families of their own now.

I am not quite as good with names in social settings but thankfully that's where DH excels. He knows the names of everyone he has ever met or associated with going all the way back to his childhood. How he knows when seeing decades older faces who these people are, who he may have briefly had a working relationship with is completely beyond me.

My mother spent a great deal of time typing up an arrangement of memories of her childhood and was making them into a book for all of us. Then her sister flew out for a visit from Kansas and began to correct many of them. 'No, that didn't happen at school, that was in the church kitchen......' and the two of them were quite annoyed with each other ;)

My siblings come to me to ask me to remember all stages of their childhood and names of people etc. I can see in my mind what they want. I had brain surgery as a child, age 5, and, after that I could visualize and hold the memory, I guess, till I die. Dr. said there are changes in ones brain and you seem to have it.

Very mixed - some specific small events can run in my brain like a crisp video complete with re-feeling the emotion I felt at the moment. Other things are a blur like scrolling microfiche. I'm the youngest of 4, middle sibs are gone and brother 12 years older was off to college when I was 6 then immediately married so he wasn't present while I grew up and not much help with my foggy memories! I am horrible at remembering names, always have been.

Like bpath, between my siblings, cousins, etc. we usually share details, and it always seems like we do remember many things differently - or not at all. I understand that our memory is not a reliable thing. Science has shown that our brains overwrite memories when we revisit them.

I had a severe concussion when I was a teen and I think I lost some stuff because of that.

My sister the writer is the worst at being absolutely convinced about a memory that is false. She's the youngest, which I think may have something to do with that.

I was always really good, like scary good. Like my friends and family would sometimes say " if you remember it so, then I am certain it was so". Lately though some things are getting a bit hazier ....I can often even remember what I was wearing or what someone else was wearing talking about something that happened years ago. ( lately though I don't remember what I wore when I saw someone).

It's sometimes pretty frustrating because I can recall so vividly but then if I try to share it with someone they just don't remember. No matter how much extra detail I can provide.

I'm very bad with medical things though almost like I freeze and could be classified as challenged.

I used to be able to replay events like a video recording in my mind, with high accuracy, especially when I'm focused on the topic. But it has deteriorated tremendously. Way in the past, some things are clear and with details but most others have been discarded. For example, some trips remember exactly where I stayed, where I ate, what I did etc but others I have few details. I think photos probably could help recover these, but will they be unaltered memories or glossed over by the passage of time?

I remember way too much, mostly negative and embarrassing things that I feel, not things like grudges against people.

I think I remember a lot, but then again, i dont remember what I forgot.

I have an excellent memory for trivia I don't need to know and for details about past events that don't matter. It is very frustrating that I cannot sometimes remember what I NEED to remember!

I have a pretty darn good memory, but I swear my sister and I grew up in different households! She will tell a childhood story in minute detail and I recall none of it and vice versa. You'd think either one of us would remember at least a scrap or two of the other's reminiscing. Or, we will both remember an incident, but we remember it in completely different ways and our recall is like we are describing two completely different events.

I guess that's why law enforcement doesn't like to use eye witness statements. They aren't consistent.

@DawnInCal, I have the same issue with my brother's memories being completely different from mine. However, we are several years apart in age, so perhaps we did grow up in different households.

Ha - a really big drawback of piecing family history together from our various memories is that we tend to be pretty confident in the accuracy of our own, but what if the sibling correcting the record is misremembering? 😄

My memory has always been great. I can quickly recall names and dates etc.

I had knee surgery 1 yr ago and still recall nurses names in pre & post op along with my med record # listed on my arm band.

I can remember my periodontist birthday along with the names of his three children. It feels like i have a ”rolodex” imbeded in my brain at times . DH finds himself at a disadvantage.

I can remember a lot of things, mostly beginning in Kindergarten. I can remember my first day there, and I especially remember returning after a tosillectomy, then a long hospitalization afterwards because of a hemorrhage, because mom had me in a red jumper type dress with a white blouse under it.

I, too, am an only child and have no one to confirm or refresh my memories. As I've grown older, I found I was bothered by some memories of things that I wish I'd handled differently in the past. One in particular was cringe worthy to me, with a wonderful young man who did an internship in the law office where I worked for many years. It was a social thing, not work related, where there was a misunderstanding about something. I've always been bothered by it, but have been out of contact with him and his wife for probably 30 years. He was easy to find, so I contacted him and wrote him an apology. He had NO idea what I was talking about, lol. Another was something involving a friend/former coworker I do still have contact with. I wrote to her and apologized again for something that had happened. She, too, had no memory of the incident. Both apologies made me feel better, but made me realize we're much more focused on ourselves and our actions than anyone else is.
Recently, a cousin I was close to growing up, but have grown apart from in the past 30 years came to dinner with her husband. She offered an apology for something she'd said about food I was serving to her at least 35 years ago! I laughed out loud because I had NO memory of it and when she explained it, I told her it wouldn't even have bothered me at the time. So our memories are just our own little fantasies sometimes.

Films ... I forget those practically the minute credits roll.

Zalco, me too! My sister can quote lines from films and often does. Her conversations are liberally sprinkled with references to scenarios from films She does as if I know what she’s talking about, when in fact, I’m clueless. Her husband and her children do it too.

My son-in-law’s memory is phenomenal. For example, he was working from home one day. His boss called. In the course of the conversation, the boss said ”hold on, I need to look up those EINs.” DSIL rattled the needed EINs, about 6 of them, without looking them up! btw, we all fight to get him on our Trivial Pursuit team!

My memory is very good; it used to be extremely good. Nevertheless, I’m sometimes astounded at the difference between the way I remember something and the way my sister remembers it. I wonder if it is the age difference and how we perceive things differently at different ages.

My father and his siblings are all dead. I’m the oldest of the 6 first cousins. The next one down from me is less than a year younger. Our memories of our grandparents and their siblings pretty much jive. On my mother’s side, I still have an aunt and an uncle who are living, but I’ve found their memories of events to be somewhat different than mine. Again, I suspect the difference may come in how old we are when we acquire the memory.

Pal, love the cartoon and boy, do I identify with it! I have absolutely had days of not sleeping because of something stupid I said. I realize now, no one cares enough to remember my stupidity.

Memory is a tricky thing. It's been documented that its not reliable. This is why eye witness statements aren't considered proof. Perspective, emotions, agenda all play a part is what and how we remember events. Over time it is especailly suspect. This is why tales change over time and fish get bigger etc. I think it wise to always leave room for another's version of events.

I am the eldest of 3 and my sisters are always incedulous at what/how much I remember. My Dad was the same way but he was very good with dates, which I am not. When he was in his last few months (age 94), I brought him a scrapbook that he had made when he was about 10. It was mostly newspaper clippings. I flipped a page to a photo of two guys in a boxing ring. Dad couldn't see the text but as soon as he saw the picture he pointed and said "that was Boxer A & Boxer B (I can't remember their names but he did) August 1937, Boxer A knocked out Boxer B in the first round." I read the caption and sure enough, he was 100% right.

I've been trying to forget. I have the same problem as Palimpsest of remembering way too many embarrassing or painful events, and it is very difficult for me to get them out of my head, especially when I am trying to sleep. I have trouble forgetting bad dreams that wake me up in the middle of the night as well, and I generally have to stay awake for a couple of hours to get rid of them.

@Lars - watch the film I linked above.

FWIW, it's possible to train yourself to have a better memory - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-waves/201703/how-train-your-brain-memory-champion

There's actually a national memory competition - https://www.usamemorychampionship.com/

And I believe the biggest reason we don't recall stuff is because we weren't paying much attention at the time.

I can also remember dumb things that I did and could be 40 years ago or more! I will replay those events over and over! Then, I don't remember other things. It's very random, what I remember and what I don't remember. Someone mentioned not remembering films/movies...this is ME! Maybe if it's a really super good movie, I may remember something of it. But basically, as soon as it is over, it's lost from memory...or a few days later anyway. I can watch movies over and over, so that's a good thing...HAHA!

The weirdest thing though that I had remembered from high school is the death of two different students in my same class...imagine my surprise when I found out that they were not dead and very much alive. Only thing I can think of is that when they left our school and moved away, I know they announced it over the PA and I can still remember the announcement and being upset. I think the Principal said "we lost so and so" and I thought they meant that they had died. The people definitely went away and were no longer at our school. Anyway, it was a relief to find out they were not dead but I was totally shocked. Crazy! :O

I have a pretty good memory of random past events and of some people. DH does too and he recalls movie details with surprising accuracy, probably because he watches some multiple times.

My memory reaches as far back as when I was around 3. I recall some details about our living in a farmhouse, but those details are sketchy. My mother suffered a pretty bad burn on her ankle from a cooking/canning mishap. My aunt was there and I can remember watching my aunt bandage her. We then moved to another house in town by the time my first brother was born (i was 3-1/2) . I remember hiding behind the front door and watching between the crack of the open door as my mother walked down the front walk with him in her arms.

I recall many random details about school, family vacations, good things, embarassing things, sad and happy things. My two brothers recall things also, and usually we pretty much agree but their memories are often about other things and events.

Arkansas girl's comment reminded me that I can never remember how to play most card games - except memory and solitaire 😄