I chuckled as I was going through a box of papers from my younger years and found diary after diary with only a few entries at the beginning. In each of these sad displays was written “I am really going to be better about writing this time”. The rest of the pages were blank. My recorded childhood is a nutshell… but I had good intentions. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to the monotony of writing “here is what I did today, blah, blah, blah”. However, I have always been a believer in the value of record keeping of milestones, hilarity, and the ups and downs of life. Through trial and error and the love of unusual journaling I figured out MY system of writing down my life.
Subject Journals
Decorated as I please, and devoted to a particular aspect or “subject”of my life. I have a summer journal, a Christmas journal, a camping journal, a spiritual journal, a travel journal, and my latest project is a childhood journal in which I am recording fun and nostalgic memories from my own life to pass on to my kids and grand-kids. I keep planner calendars for the running day to day which will remind of important dates and such, but subject journals compartmentalize and make it more enjoyable for me to write. I keep a running list of the things I want to write down and will throw one of these journals in my carry-on or sit on the back deck on a sunny morning and get myself caught up, I don’t let too much time pass or the details get foggy. Sometimes I add small pictures, or souvenir scraps or post cards, stickers, and even draw funny pictures. I make sure to date the entries, give as much detail as I have energy for, and title them to be able to find “that funny story” easier in the future. It is so fun to look back on our grand adventures of summer, or holiday traditions that bring back treasured memories. I would be so sad not to remember the adventure of driving cross country when my daughters Guinea pig escaped its cage in the back seat to crawl under my feet (passenger side, phew) and into the one opening in the dash board! But that’s another post…
What ever your style, don’t miss the opportunity to capture your life, at least a few lines of it. I really believe you and those you love will be glad you did!
