Thanks for the Memory - #MFRW 52-week Blog Challenge

I missed last week's writing prompt, but this week I'm back in the proverbial saddle. This week's writing prompt is my most memorable experience--and that's a tough one.

I'm in my fifties, so I have a lot of memories thought which to sift. Unfortunately--or perhaps predictably--I cannot single out just one memory, good, bad, or indifferent. The human condition tends to focus on the painful memories more than the pleasant ones, probably our lizard brain's way of keeping us safe. Those painful memories prevent us from repeating past mistakes. But I'd prefer not to dwell on old hurts.

I once read a quip: "We remember the good old days so well because there were so few of them." That, too, hits home. Some of us enjoyed happier histories than others.

Memories make their way into an author's work, including mine. A particularly humiliating incident in high school leads to a bullied student snapping with deadly results. An amusing discovery about rabbits proves a surprise to a romantic hero. (Yes, rabbits really can spit.) Decades of experience with horses adds verisimilitude to character interactions with the big beasties.

Our experiences become memories and shape us as well as our writing. I'm sure participating authors will focus on lifechanging milestones: weddings, childbirth, diagnoses of disease, etc. Asking someone my age for a favorite memory fails, because I cannot pick out which part of my life was undeniably better than any other.