Memories

Something happened tonight. It is something so rare that I treasure it ever single time it happens.

My brain found a memory.

There are so many things you take for granted until you have a traumatic brain injury. Memories are one of those things.

It is strange what brought it back. I bought the shampoo I used when I was a teenager. The smell of it made something flash into my mind that I hadn’t been able to remember since before my brain damage. It was exhilarating to remember a moment I’d already lived and enjoyed. After having a crappy week sometimes it is the simplest thing that make us cry and say a prayer of thankfulness in the shower.

The memory was silly and nothing particularly special, but it was intoxicating!

As the smell of the shampoo filled my nostrils I had a flash back of the summer before my freshman year of college. I was freshly 17 and working at an oil company until school started. Working full days and getting a decent paycheck allowed me to sneak some of that money away for my favorite thing. Concerts!

There is nothing like sweating your butt off in the middle of a steamy summer night on the gulf coast, with 20,000 fellow music fans and one awesome band. The exact memory was smelling of marijuana (not mine) and sweat and taking a nice long shower before collapsing into bed, filled with happiness. The 30 seconds of exhaustion I felt before falling asleep was amazing. I’d wake up the following day and think of what concert was on my schedule next so I could do it all over again.

It is strange having a moment you can’t share with anyone in your life. Something so amazing that you want to shout it from the rooftops…but no one would understand. The nice thing is that I’m happy just treasuring it by myself.

Now to make some new memories!