Memory tip for more than Baby Boomers

There are somewhere around 77 million people in America who always remember who they are. They’re Baby Boomers. And over the years they’ve unashamedly reminded us — lest you forget — that they’ve done it all. Notice I use the past tense. The leading edge of this postwar generation used to set the latest trends. Now, it may be setting records for watching ESPN sports and “Downton Abbey” bingeing.

Let’s face it. We Baby Boomers have nearly ground to a halt.

Gone are the days of fighting “the establishment.” Now, we aging Boomers spend our spare time fighting cellulite and nose hairs. It’s not a pretty picture, and we’re tired of looking at it — especially in the full-length mirror.

We miss those days of our youth. Days when we could sing the Top 40 lyrics word for word, twist all night with Dick Clark and refuse to trust anyone over 30 who couldn’t do the same. Nowadays, we can’t trust ourselves to remember where we put our keys, reading glasses or parked car.

You know, it’s hard to look cool when you’re wandering in a big parking lot and your spouse is shouting that the car has been stolen. (I’m not making this up.) The search is even worse when you’re also pushing a huge shopping cart from one end of the asphalt to the other. The only consolation is seeing other wandering Boomers with the same frantic look in their eyes.

It’s a bit unfortunate, but age — and all the trappings of big white tennis shoes and hair to match — happens to all of us. And Baby Boomers are leading the pack — again.

This generation that once littered the streets with burning draft cards and smoldering bras now leave Starbucks lattes and handbags strewn along the highways. True to form — and mine is inexplicably spreading — we’re having trouble remembering where we put things, and not surprisingly it’s often on top of the car.

Sigh.

Forgetfulness is getting in the way for those of us who are used to being on the cutting edge. And it hurts. These days, we realize we’re not the sharpest blade in the drawer. And there are plenty of Millennials and Gen X-ers around to remind us. Usually, they’re our doctors.

But let’s look on the bright side — as soon as we can find our readers. Losing our memory can be a good thing.

I’m guessing by this time in our lives we may have a long list of grievances, things that didn’t go our way, people who hurt us — and more. Instead of singing “Let it go, let it go!” we’re tenaciously hanging onto this record of other’s misdeeds, failings, unfairness, emotional pain.

Maybe it’s time we forget where we’ve filed it.

Fortunately, we have a perfect example set for us by The One who has been around forever.

As you can imagine, God has had plenty of time to keep track of our countless transgressions, but he has promised to forgive us of everything we have ever done wrong. Besides that, he promises to forget them, putting our sins as far as the East is from the West and remember them no more. With him, we get a chance to start fresh — a clean slate.

Think about it. God has forgotten his list. Isn’t it about time we do the same?

Forgiving, and then forgetting can be very freeing. We’d have a lot less to crowd our minds. Maybe then, we could remember where we parked our car.

Lucy Luginbill is a career television producer-host and the Spiritual Life editor for the Tri-City Herald in Washington state.