It’s surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.

–Barbara Kingsolver

Actor and comedian Chris Rock is everywhere these days, promoting his new movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.” In the June issue of O Magazine, he muses about his personal life and includes an interesting comment about a favorite memory.

His best memory, Rock says, involves his dad, now gone. He drove a New York Daily News delivery truck and when Chris was a young teenager he would sometimes accompany his dad on his route. Always early in the morning, they would quietly talk to each other like men. Rock says those were great times.

I thought about Rock’s memory as I stood in a grocery line this week. Ahead of me two mothers talked about their concern that the threat of skyrocketing gas prices would prevent a trip to Washington’s outer coast, abruptly ending the Memorial Weekend plans they were making for their families.

Again I thought of Rock as I perused a friend’s Facebook page, detailing with hundreds of photos a family reunion that was enjoyed aboard a cruise ship. They had put much planning and financial resources into the trip and no doubt it is a memory they will reference with enormous joy the rest of their lives.

But if gas prices keep you home or taking a cruise seems only a dream, perhaps a prayer for inspiration is in order. Or a prayer for a heart that adjusts quickly and finds value and happiness, even when disappointed. Or a prayer that the simple things in life fill you with joy overflowing.

Or a prayer to remind you that those moments you consider mediocre or routine will ultimately become your favorite memories.

I know it works, for I’ve prayed those prayers many times in my life. And when I think back on some of my best memories they are, more often than not, very simple.

Like learning how to knead bread from my paternal grandmother or gathering eggs in her hen house. Sitting around a backyard bonfire and laughing with my kids. Drinking coffee out in the Island County fairground equine barn and watching 4Hers groom their horses before a show. And talking quietly with my husband in the car when we make a road trip.

There have been a couple of biggies for me. Like the time I watched Roy and Dale Rogers record their last album at Capitol Records in Hollywood. Or the time I peered into the Oval Office after hours with a high school friend who worked at the time as an intern, proud to show off the Reagan White House. I distinctly recall seeing a creeping charlie plant and remarking that I had the same type of plant growing across my kitchen window sill.

We live in one of the most beautiful regions and weather forecasters are promising sunshine. There are beaches to walk. Birds to watch. Gardens to plant. Hamburgers to grill. Fish to catch. Boats to sail. Memories to make.