Memory, Where Art Thou?

My children kinda scare me. They have incredible memories for past events. Yesterday I heard them talking to each other about which of their friends have swimming pools. Colin said Bryce has a pool and I chimed in that, no, he really doesn't. He reminded me that Bryce had a pool at his party when they were 2.

Indeed, they did have a small wading pool that summer's day 4 years ago.

This afternoon he talked about the guy who drove us from our car to the airport for our summer vacation last year. He said, "Are you boys going to Disney World?" Colin replied, "No, we're going to the Florida beaches."

He remembers all the parties. He knows which gifts he received for which Christmas. If he sees a small child wearing his hand-me-down shoes, he remembers that they were his shoes. He knows if we've been to a store or restaurant and what we ate or bought there. And he knows how old he was when everything happened.

Spencer's mind is not so clearly (to me) geared to what happened, but he does know who drives every NASCAR racecar and who the sponsors are. As we drive down the road he will yell out what he sees on the signs: "Look, FedEx/Kinkos! Jason Leffler sponsor!" or "There's Cingular Wireless! It sponsors number 99! Well, used to be 99."

Is this normal?

Here's the problem, though. When they run down the halls of church and I grab them by the collar and say, "I JUST told you not to run in the halls," they will reply, "Oh, we forgot."

Did you put the seat down? "Oh, I forgot."

Did you wash your hands? "Oops! Forgot!"

Do you have your shoes on? Forgot.

I KNOW that is normal. But how does it jive with all the other minutia they heard once but still remember?

Perhaps its time for me to start saying prayers for their wives, who will one day wonder what I did to cause this!