I came across some sheet music yesterday, which unlocked memories of the choir that I had participated in, during my last yearish, living in San Francisco! Recovering this memory, feels monumental, as I have been waiting for YEARS for a memory from my “lost years” (the years I have almost no recollection of – the 2 years proceeding the car-accident & the 2 years post accident) to resurface.
I am able to recall the choir director. She was dynamic during our practices. (As is true of every past choir director that I’ve had, ((& there have been a few))). It’s sensible, considering that they direct singers via grand physical gestures, in order that all choir members are able to see what to do & can, therefore, act accordingly. Choir directors visually emphasize, the enunciation of certain words or letters within words (Ps & Ss ((for instance))) & use their hands to signal an increase or decrease in volume.
I also remembered a friend that I had made in our petite choir! I can visualize her face & now the tricky part…remembering her name (that never was a strong suit of mine & now it’s virtually impossible)! 
General characteristics of the setting in which we practiced, continue to arise within my mind.
Of course, music would initiate the retrieval of my lost memories! Music has been such a grand gift in my life, in so many ways = enabling expression, creating beauty with like-minded comrades, and now, memory retrieval! I am extremely happy & not at all surprised!!
I continue to be consistently reminded by doctors, my counselor & my dad alike, that memory recovery is a very-possible occurrence for survivors of traumatic brain injuries. As a result, I’ve been waiting & wishing (as memory retrieval in no way certain, just possible) that recall will happen for me. And, finally (in slow-mo – as has been the case with every aspect within this lengthy recovery process), I have retrieved a memory!!
(my glee is not adequately conveyed by !!)
As time has gone on, more subtle attributes of that memory are revealed to me. The act of recalling a memory from the blank time, which, up until now, have been unavailable for me to access, is extremely fulfilling & it’s grand that the memory being revealed is so joyous in and of itself!
Shucks. Music. U get me every time
This act of remembering, provokes hope too, that more memories will come back to me from my veiled past, as a result of experiencing memory triggers (like the sheet music).
Brain injury recovery, is a unique process for each & every survivor, so there truly is no norm to base expectations on. This is healing of the brain after-all! What could be more personal?
Unlike many other injuries, you truly can’t foresee what the future of your recovery will entail.
This can (and certainly has) driven me bonkers.
It IS wondrous though, to discover a glimmer of gold (a reclaimed, joyous, memory) amidst all of this recovery rubble.