My mother is cleaning out papers
rooting out the parts of the past
that no longer interest her.
She is showing me
reports from my high school and before,
evidence of an education
I cannot recall.

"Do you remember drawing that?" she asks,
and "How did you come up
with that idea for a project?"
I have few answers
and little interest.
This is her moment to explore
and review history.
I don’t want to do that now.
I just want to enjoy the now
and watch Youtube.

"Did you know
the first Youtube video was loaded today
back in 2005?"
I say.
She tries to ignore me
as I have done with her.

But her topic is more interesting.
She is doing primary research
into my yesteryears.
I want to know more
but don’t want to address it today.
Still
I worry
that she may trash that past
if I don’t express enough interest
immediately.

"All right,"
I admit, "Let’s take a look.
I will allow you
to show me more
about me."