You should keep a journal...
...because someday you will have something to laugh over.
I recently came across my sporadically-kept childhood journal, from when I was 10 years old. I moved around a lot as a kid and wrote so many letters to friends that I never had the strong desire to bare my soul to a diary. However, amidst the records of basketball game scores, there was one gem:
"Dear Diary,
Today I folded a load of laundry for Mom. Did I ever tell you I love folding laundry?"
Wha....?!
Seriously, though, I've recently started journaling again, and I've found it to be an excellent practice to keep my writing muscles limber. Sometimes all I write about is cute things my kids said that I want to remember, like, "Lucy: Well, I would tell you the truth, but if I told you the truth you would make me sit in the corner for a really really long time..." or reflections on daily life, like, "I hate folding laundry!" :)
But just getting pen to paper for a few minutes makes it easier to put fingers to keyboard later. On a rare occasion it will give me a really good idea that will make its way into a manuscript.
I confess I'm still having difficulty with the "every day" aspect that journaling implies. (Fellow etymologists will recognize the "jour" in journal from the French for "day".) Any advice?
I recently came across my sporadically-kept childhood journal, from when I was 10 years old. I moved around a lot as a kid and wrote so many letters to friends that I never had the strong desire to bare my soul to a diary. However, amidst the records of basketball game scores, there was one gem:
"Dear Diary,
Today I folded a load of laundry for Mom. Did I ever tell you I love folding laundry?"
Wha....?!
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| You're right--this picture is totally unrelated. But it makes me smile! |
But just getting pen to paper for a few minutes makes it easier to put fingers to keyboard later. On a rare occasion it will give me a really good idea that will make its way into a manuscript.
I confess I'm still having difficulty with the "every day" aspect that journaling implies. (Fellow etymologists will recognize the "jour" in journal from the French for "day".) Any advice?
I used to be so good at keeping a journal. I'm kind of sad I dont do it at all now. My kids are young and they say the funniest thing. I don't think I ever loved folding laundry though..ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh. Actually, laundry is one of the things that I do have a handle on. And I love hanging out clothes to dry.
ReplyDeleteI throw away my journals and don't write in it every day either. It's for me and I don't have to stick to anybody's rules.
By the way, you will probably enjoy a slim gem of a book by Kathleen Norris. the Quotidian Mysteries; Laundry, Liturgy and Women's Work.
I used to write every day in a journal, but my journal has become pretty much only a Bible-reading journal now. I'll write down some big things like-- "Today is So-and-so's birthday and we're doing such-and-such," but I don't write about my life like I used to. I do find it hilarious to go back to my old journals and read what I wrote. I was always so melodramatic!! And always fighting with my sister about something. I came across an entry that said, "If I ever get published, I am NOT dedicating a book to my sister!!!!" :)
ReplyDeleteAmy
P.S. Folding laundry. Ha!
LOL! That is so fun. I crack up at my journals from my youth. My 8 year old is wanting to learn how to do laundry. He finds it fascinating, although I hate it. Funny how things change.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Gems like that make it sound totally worth it. And I completely believe it is worth it. However, it doesn't mean I actually take the time to do it...
ReplyDelete