As I write this, I am sitting in an apartment in Kaikoura having a wee break away in our favourite place. Yesterday, my husband went for a long walk on The Peninsula Walk which is one we used to do together. Last time we came for a visit, I was much earlier in my rehabilitation from my back surgery and could not join him at all as I was still quite immobile. At some point, I hope to be able to join him again. I had sat and looked at the scenery and read a book and crocheted. This time I am much more able and decided I would check out if I could play bowls.
I made contact with one of the local bowling clubs and they were very welcoming and I had a very enjoyable afternoon spent having a roll-up. So, both of us were doing something we loved for the day and we ended the day tired but happy.
While I was playing bowls I remembered something I had realised only recently. As I was helping to kick the bowls back I had realised that I loved the sound of the bowls hitting together and it always puts a smile on my face. It may seem a bit strange – and it kind of is – but I think I love that sound because my Mum used to take me along sometimes if she was playing a game of bowls. I remember loving the atmosphere, the ladies laughing and chatting and all accompanied by the noise of the bowls clacking together.
It made me think of the other things that spark memories for me. There are quite a few things that give that spark of memory. Some are day to day sounds, some can be music, some are smells of different kinds.
Here are some of the things that bring back those memories.
- Sounds of bowls clacking together – Memories of spending time with my Mum at bowls
- Sounds of pool balls clacking together – Memories of playing pool with my husband and usually getting thrashed.
- The theme tune to “Huckleberry Hound” – Always makes me think of fish and chips. It must have been on a Friday afternoon, when us Catholics would have fish on Fridays.
- Any 70’s music takes me back to the days of my youth.
- The smells of baking in my kitchen. Brings back memories of baking with my grandchildren. I hope that they will bake some of my recipes and are fondly reminded of our time together baking.
- The smells of baking always remind me of my Nanna’s amazing baking. I think I inherited my love of baking from her!
- The smell of ‘Oil of Ulan’. Makes me think of my Mum. She never used to seem to wear perfume, but she always used to moisturise her face with it and the smell still takes me back.
- Seeing packets of cashews and crystallised ginger in the supermarket reminds me how I used to bring both these things for my Dad when I came to visit.
- Biscuits with hundreds and thousands on that my children’s paternal Nanna used to buy for them when they visited her. My sister-in-law and I were under strict instructions not to buy them for our kids as they were “Nan’s biscuits”. For a while I think we complied but then decided to rebel and buy them too!
There are many things that spark memories for us all and I could probably keep writing and remembering them. The sights, the sounds, the smells they can evoke wonderful memories, but not so wonderful ones as well.
One thing I wasn’t expecting to spark a memory was to do with medication. When I was first diagnosed, I was given medication to take to help with the symptoms. One of them is Sinemet. That’s when it kind of hit me. I really did have Parkinson’s! Do you know why it hit me as it did? Because I remembered my Mum saying that Dad was on Sinemet. So, to me this was a real Parkies drug and made it all so much more real for me.
For the most part, though the things that spark memory, spark happy memories. I hope that in time, my grandchildren will recall the happy times spent baking with me in my kitchen. They will also remember licking the bowl and decorating cakes and biscuits.
What sparks a memory for you?
Is it a sound?
The theme tune from a programme you watched as a child?
The smell of perfume or aftershave?
What memories will our grandchildren have of us?
My journey with Parkinsons 