dates and details

Do you ever wonder why we have a propensity for remembering certain details that on any other occasion would be entirely forgettable? I wonder about that all the time, and I wonder if it's just me or if others also experience this. Not that I'm special, but is it because I tend to be more detailed oriented by nature? Or is it truly because I've come to associate a certain detail with a specific memory or emotion and it has come to have meaning for me, therefore making it easier to recall?

For example, I have a knack for remembering dates. I can tell you all of my relatives' and closest friends' (and past lovers') birthdays. Today is one of them; I will always know that Mike's birthday is the 28th of December (happy 36th!) But it isn't even just birthdays. I will always remember that 11/11/08 was the day my first ever adult boyfriend broke up with me. Over text. Ha. Or it was a year later on 11/11/09 that I accidentally elbowed some guy in a bar which led to a conversation that eventually led to a date that eventually led to a relationship. Or that 12/20/12 was the first time my now-ex told me "You are amazing. We are amazing together. That's what I think." December 20 also happens to be the birthday of my ex prior to my current ex, oddly enough.

And it's not even just dates. I can remember outfits I was wearing for certain events - and I'm not talking weddings or other occasions with photographic documentation. I'm talking about the fact I can remember wearing my orange v-neck sleeveless shirt from Banana Republic, jeans and a cardigan on the day that I met the love of my life. Which happened to be May 22, 2009.

Is this just me? I have a hard time believing so. And I don't think I believe it's a women-only phenomenon. I've heard stories about how guys can remember what their future wife was wearing on their first encounter, and I'm pretty sure it's not just the men who are fashion conscious. What is it about our brains that make us remember these specific details and forget what we ate yesterday? I think it speaks strongly to the very real connection between heart and mind. Or for the scientists out there, the fact is that both memory and emotions are processed right next to each other in our limbic system, found deep in the center of our brains.

This is not new information, but just something that fascinates me. Because, when we first meet the love of our life, or when we accidentally elbow some random guy in a bar, we don't know then that those details will have any significance. It's not like we say, "Hey brain, remember this moment because I have a hunch that in a few months it will mean something." But in a few months, our brains actually are able to recall those details that were filed away just in case they were important, after all.

And that is truly amazing.