Sketching Makes Memories Stick

I can't remember what I ate for lunch, but I can't forget where I was three years ago.

I had tacos for lunch yesterday. Or was it a grilled cheese? No, it must have been oatmeal. Breakfast for lunch, am I right? Though if I did eat breakfast for lunch, I’m hoping it was chicken and waffles.

The truth is, I can’t remember.

But I can remember where I was and what I did in June and July three years ago. I traveled through Italy on a family trip and can recall in minute detail what we did, what we ate, what we saw, and the funny things that happened. I can remember because I drew it.

I captured our days in pen and ink, sketching things that made me smile, jotting down notes for detail, and sometimes even adding color.

The drawings aren’t perfect, and they don’t have to be. That’s not the point. The point is that I have this sketchbook, this physical memento of our trip, itself containing memories on every page.

I can flip through it and recall the time we trekked up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the fake David, or drank our umpteenth Aperol Spritz, or struggled to book a taxi back from our pasta-making class.

I can turn to a different page and still hear my kids’ disgusted groans over yet another bare statue butt.

And it’s not just revisiting these sketches that helps me remember our trip. It’s the act of drawing each experience that burns it in my brain. Noticing the details of a situation or scene and capturing them on the page makes the memories stick.

I can still see the dwindling light reflecting off Paolo’s bald head because, in my sketchbook, I inscribed a smooth arc on the page, uninterrupted by a single pen stroke of hair. Nary a strand stuck to Paolo’s head, yet the memory of his hair-free dome hangs on.

I can vividly picture Nocciola, the sweet little terrier who nosed for scraps around the dinner table, because I captured his furry, stocky little body and blocky head with short strokes of my pen.

And how could I forget sweet, glorious Fanta? Fanta with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. I can’t forget because I drew it, and in this case colored it, in all its bright orange, syrup-less glory.

So if I really want to remember what I ate for lunch, I will sketch that waffle stacked with chicken and slathered in syrup.

And if you really want to remember something, draw it. It doesn’t have to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Maybe you want to look back and remember your day-to-day, whatever your day looks like.

It could be a cartoon of your crazy carpool line or a doodle of your dog walk (or even how your dog doodled on your walk). It might be an illustrated montage of your workout routine or a sketch of your steak-grilling setup.

And yes, it could even be a drawing of what you ate for lunch. I’d recommend a hard pass on the oatmeal.