My checkered memory

My girlfriend doesn't understand why I smile when she worries over having a hot meal ready for me when I get home. The other day I stood there, shaking my head and saying, "Hon, I appreciate it, but you don't have to kill yourself over this. Look, before I met you, I used to come home, open a packet of Ramen, and eat that in front of MST3K re-runs, sometimes without waiting for the water to heat up the noodles."

Then I stopped, and stared off into the middle distance, head cocked to one side. That's not how it was. When I was on my own, I used to come home, grab the mail, take the dog out for a walk, and read the mail while the dog exercised in the backyard. Then I used to work on answering e-mails, updating the Cthulhu show, and sometime around midnight, think about getting something to eat (McDonalds was still open late, or there was Ramen, or Hamburger Helper Singles).

I had to really think about it to piece together what my life was like before. Now, of course, it's totally different. When I get home from work, there's a family dinner, everyone seated around the table. I go over some schoolwork with the little one, or look at some art that she wants to show off. We play Uno or Memory for about an hour, then she's off to bed, and I work on Cthulhu until it's time to sit and watch a show together (sometimes a movie, sometimes TV) and then head to bed around midnight.

I guess the thing is, I know my life has totally changed. I'm cool with that, I even like the new life. But why have I forgot what life was like before? I mean, my memory is legendary for it's gaps, but why do I have to concentrate to piece together a whole lifestyle that I held consistently for over two years?

No point to this, no theme. It just bothers me.