Seven Degrees Left of Center

The Things That Never Change — Yet They Do

It is easy to get caught up in a daily grind. The daily pattern of completing a checklist of tasks. There is a purpose for the list, for the effort needed to make it through each new day. Sometimes I need to be reminded.

I took a break from reading and writing my daily notes. I really needed the break, but I shouldn't have done that. Now, I am a little lost. Sometimes I forget that I forgot what I have forgotten. I know that probably doesn't make sense. That is okay, it doesn't always make sense to me.

I have to remind myself that I have brain damage that causes memory loss. My daily notes aren't just habit—they're how I hold onto yesterday, last week, last month. When I stopped reading them, I lost more than the routine. I lost the days themselves.

This isn't about being forgetful. It's about needing systems that work, and the consequences of breaking them.

The notes create a bridge between who I was yesterday and who I am today. Without them, each morning starts with a gap. Not just "What did I do?" but "Who was I?"

The checklist isn't busy work. It's proof that I existed, proof that things happened, proof that I had thoughts worth keeping.

The break was necessary. The consequences are real. Both things can be true.

Today I write a note. Tomorrow I will read it. The system rebuilds itself one day at a time.