A Sensory Memory

One of the things that I love most about being human is just how deeply our five senses are connected to our memories. The taste of a certain food, a familiar smell or an old song can instantly connect us to a time, place or person in our lives. These moments happen to me quite often and really seem to stop me in my tracks. Sometimes I am taken back to something significant in my life and other times, to something very minor but the memory is still a strong one.

This afternoon I was eating my lunch in the break room at work. I had my usual veggie burger and chips. The vending machine was out of the BBQ Fritos that I normally eat so my backup plan was the Harvest Cheddar Sunchips. I hadn't had Sunchips in months but within two bites a powerful memory came over me. Prior to this past September, my husband and I worked together for 4 years. For most of that time we hated our jobs but the highlight of our day was the fact that we go to eat lunch together every day. We usually had two choices of places to eat, Taco Bell and Subway. More often than not, we chose Subway. The ladies who worked there knew us and knew our orders. With our subs, my husband would usually get salt and vinegar chips but I would always get Sunchips. Lunchtime was our time. Our son was at daycare so it was our only time to just be together. We would take an hour out of the day to de-stress and vent about work and other frustrations.

Many couples say that working with their spouse is something they couldn't do because it would damage the relationship but I think that working together was a very positive thing for our relationship. It gave us a very clear understanding of our partner's stresses and the details of their job. Knowing each other this way allows for a level of understanding and empathy that truly connects a couple. So many things about our lives changed when we were forced to change jobs last fall. I often about the loss of pay and the loss of our weekends together but I never realized just how much those lunches meant to me until today.