Is it unusual to remember this?

[Unforgettability50]

To remember a significant ex's birthday 3.5 years after breakup? I've always been good at remembering birthdays/ anniversaries etc., so found myself thinking of him last week on his 50th birthday. I've no desire to have anything to do with him.

Should I have forgotten this date by now?

No, I still remember the birthdays of some childhood friends I haven’t seen in 20 years! So I would say it’s pretty normal to see a date you used to associate with a significant other and spare it a thought!

I rarely forget birthdays, even if I haven't seen the person in years. Your brain isn't a white board that gets wiped clean every so often, some stuff is just there to stay. You don't have to celebrate it or anything.

I can remember birthdays of friends/ boyfriend/ lads I had a crush on as a teen, almost 40 years ago! I don't see anything in it.

I often notice the date and think of people from my past when I realise it's their birthday. It's nostalgic.

I seem to remember a lot of numbers/dates which includes birthdays of the most random people.

I can remember the landline phone numbers of my best friends from secondary school. I could easily call their parents for a chat 😂 and I remember most of the birthdays of the wider group. Some things just stick.

I don't think so - I remember my boyfriends from when I was a teenagers birthday - actually I remember all my boyfriends birthdays now I'm thinking about it

No, not unusual at all.

I can remember the birthday of my only boyfriend before DH, and we broke up in 2007! I can remember my year 9 crush's birthday, for that matter.

I am very good at remember the most pointless information (good at a pub quiz!). I remember the birthday of an ex and we broke up in 2009!

I remember my old next door neighbour’s birthday, I haven’t lived there in more than 20 years.

Thanks, all... nothing unusual about me so!

There's no 'should' involved here. Some people have a facility for remembering dates, whether they're significant or not. You can't force yourself to remember or forget them; you just do.

I can still remember the landline number of someone I was seeing in 1979. I still remember the dates of birthdays of people I worked with over 40 years ago

I remember the star sign of everyone I ever knew from childhood to.. My thirties probably 😳

Not at all girl x

My cat has the same birthday as a childhood bully, can't believe i still remember it

I remember the birthday of my ex boyfriend from when I was 16 - and we weren’t serious about each other. I also remember the birthdays of school friends, childhood pets, uni friends, all my nieces and nephews etc. Birthdays just seem to stick.

The issue is less that you remember, I still remember where the avocados were in a long since demolished shop from 10 years ago. It's what, if any, feeling that association brings with it. If you can accept that your brain works independently of 'rules' then you can also accept it was his birthday - he gets one every year, and Doja still knows where the avocados were stacked in that shop from 10 years ago.

I divorced my first husband 31 years ago, I still remember his national insurance number, his parents' phone number and all their birthdays. I don't try to remember this stuff, it's just there.
Just realised I don't know current dh's NI number (after being married for 19 yrs and knowing him for 9 yrs before that) probably because he deals with his own admin stuff.

Perfectly normal to remember.

Totally normal to remember birthdays. Phone numbers and car number plates from childhood too. I also know my full credit card details including the long number.

I’m dreadful with faces though, I have to really concentrate to remember a face otherwise I might not recognise them the next day. If only they had their birthdays stamped on their foreheads…

It’s literally just a piece of information you’ve retained. You can’t force your brain to forget insignificant snippets of information. There’s no ‘should’ about it - it doesn’t mean anything.

I can remember two of my exes’ birthdays. I can also remember the reg plate of my dad’s old Cortina from 45 years ago, the price of a pint of draught bitter from a pub where I was a barmaid in the mid 1990s and some lines I once had in a primary school play. It doesn’t mean any of this stuff is important to me.

I remember my ex's and we broke up years ago
Honestly I still have it as the password number for online banking!!

I'm in my 50s, and I can still tell you the birthdays of some people i was at school with, whom I've not seen since I was 16. I've just always remembered dates without much effort, whether or not i try.

Other people struggle as much as I find it easy. We all have different abilities.