--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old age breeds the miracle of recall. You…" description: "\"“Old age breeds the miracle of recall. You have no short-term memory atall; you can’t remember what you did minutes ago, but you can recall with exquis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/vicki-covington-29699_aging_old-age-breeds-the-miracle-of-recall-you_750112.jpg" --- # Old age breeds the miracle of recall. You have no… ![“Old age breeds the miracle of recall. You have no short-term memory atall; you can’t remember what you did minutes ago, but you can recall with exquisite clarity what you did on your fifth birthday and how it all felt.” quote by Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/vicki-covington-29699_aging_old-age-breeds-the-miracle-of-recall-you_750112.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/vicki-covington-29699_aging_old-age-breeds-the-miracle-of-recall-you_750112.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d7/vicki-covington-29699_aging_old-age-breeds-the-miracle-of-recall-you_750112.jpg) > ““Old age breeds the miracle of recall. You have no short-term memory atall; you can’t remember what you did minutes ago, but you can recall with exquisite clarity what you did on your fifth birthday and how it all felt.”” [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory shifts with age, losing short‑term recall while preserving vivid, detailed long‑term memories, especially emotionally charged events. **In simple terms:** A memory trade‑off: short‑term fades, long‑term sharpens. Key Takeaway Accept and use long‑term memory strengths. Themes memory aging nostalgia cognition Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type psychological observational When to use this quote - storytelling - teaching history - personal reflection - writing memoirs Key Concepts neurobiology psychology emotional memory Questions to Reflect On - What long‑term memories shape your identity? - How do you cope with short‑term forgetfulness? A Different Perspective May cause frustration when short‑term recall is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ## Related quotes > [It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/it-was-on-my-fifth-birthday-that-papa-put-his-hand-on-my-shoulder-and/) [Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/) > [For my fifth birthday, I got a small tennis racket. That's how I started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-ivanovic/for-my-fifth-birthday-i-got-a-small-tennis-racket-that-s-how-i-started/) [Ana Ivanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-ivanovic/) > [My parents split before my fifth birthday, and I moved with Mom and my three siblings to her native Oahu.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/my-parents-split-before-my-fifth-birthday-and-i-moved-with-mom-and-my/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [My mom really wanted me to be a musician so she gave me a guitar for my fifth birthday, but I didn't start playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yngwie-malmsteen/my-mom-really-wanted-me-to-be-a-musician-so-she-gave-me-a-guitar-for/) [Yngwie Malmsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yngwie-malmsteen/) > [ \[On old age:\] You wake up one morning and you got it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/on-old-age-you-wake-up-one-morning-and-you-got-it/) [Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/) > [“It's the only thing that brings us together now, you see. Memories. We make so many mistakes in life, young lady, but we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/it-s-the-only-thing-that-brings-us-together-now-you-see-memories-we/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I will never give in to old age until I become old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/i-will-never-give-in-to-old-age-until-i-become-old/) [Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/) > [So you see, old age is really not so bad. May you come to know the condition!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/so-you-see-old-age-is-really-not-so-bad-may-you-come-to-know-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“If old age is good for anything it's good for being generous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kuhn/if-old-age-is-good-for-anything-it-s-good-for-being-generous/) William Kuhn > [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [I don't know how you feel about old age... but in my case I didn't even see it coming. It hit me from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/i-don-t-know-how-you-feel-about-old-age-but-in-my-case-i-didn-t-even/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The whole of life is a journey toward youthful old age, toward self-contemplation, love, gaiety, and, in a fundamental sense, the most gratifying time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-whole-of-life-is-a-journey-toward-youthful-old-age-toward-self/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) ## More by Vicki Covington > [“I was that kind of tired you feel when you’ve spent a day in a hospital while a loved one undergoes surgery and comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-was-that-kind-of-tired-you-feel-when-you-ve-spent-a-day-in-a/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I’m serious, now let me know every time you see her cry. The thought brings me great joy. Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-m-serious-now-let-me-know-every-time-you-see-her-cry-the-thought/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“If there’s one thing I learned in Alanon, it’s that you got to face the music because it just grows louder when you ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/if-there-s-one-thing-i-learned-in-alanon-it-s-that-you-got-to-face/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Explain to me, if you will, why alcoholism is a disease but can only be treated by attending little spiritual meetings in basements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/explain-to-me-if-you-will-why-alcoholism-is-a-disease-but-can-only-be/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I’ve never known a tranquil atheist. Don’t they always look like they just sat on a tack?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-ve-never-known-a-tranquil-atheist-don-t-they-always-look-like-they/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Dinah and I were raised to believe money taints ordinary people, obstructs virtue, and makes a fool out of you. So, the inheritance was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/dinah-and-i-were-raised-to-believe-money-taints-ordinary-people/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Mornings are fresh like babies, uncontaminated by events. I find them sad for that reason. They’re too fragile and naïve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/mornings-are-fresh-like-babies-uncontaminated-by-events-i-find-them/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I allowed myself a microscopic view into his ice-colored eyes. It was like viewing one of those photographs of the Arctic region – very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-allowed-myself-a-microscopic-view-into-his-ice-colored-eyes-it-was/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Announcements are best kept intact until stomachs are satisfied. News settles easier when blood sugar is stable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/announcements-are-best-kept-intact-until-stomachs-are-satisfied-news/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. 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They must know it’s right complimentary, an incentive to keep the women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/all-the-men-i-know-add-that-hands-that-prepared-it-line-they-must/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Wasting talent is a sin. I’m not big on sin, but I know a sin when I see one staring me in the face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/wasting-talent-is-a-sin-i-m-not-big-on-sin-but-i-know-a-sin-when-i/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) [Explore all 18 Vicki Covington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Old age breeds the miracle of recall. 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