There is something beautiful about sadness

We all can relate.

Sometime between 2010 and 2023, my grandmother lost her mind. That could mean anything really, but the gene that put her at risk, I also carry. A mutation on our CMFR gene. There was never an exact moment, the progression was slow. It showed up as stories of eating meatloaf for dinner when we had just had pasta. And progressed to forgetting our names. We begged her to write her life down. She didn’t. She said she would get around to it, and then never did. To her credit, we wanted her to do it, but we didn’t do it. Her stories shaped our family, every member thought they were her special someone. And we all were.

Why is it that we want to remember? What is important about memory?