I wonder what people mean when they say a man never forgets one woman. Does he think about her every day, or does she come to mind a few times a year, unexpectedly, after he’s gone months without thinking of her at all?
Those sound like very different lives, though both could fit inside the sentence “I never forgot her.”
It’s easy to hear that phrase as a love story still waiting for its ending. I’m less sure it always means that. Remembering an ex could mean missing her. It could also mean remembering a particular stretch of life, including the person you were when you knew her.
I’m curious about the ordinary version of this—the man who goes on with his life and still occasionally wonders how someone is doing. Does the memory become gentler? Can affection remain after the wish to get back together has disappeared?
And when years have passed, how much of the woman he remembers is still her, and how much belongs to the last time he saw her?
Have you ever thought about an ex for years? When you say you haven’t forgotten her, do you mean you still want her back, or simply that you remember?
