The itch to write---aka, My life of journaling

I started keeping journals as a child.  I continued writing throughout my years of school, even going through a spell of thinking I was the next Anne Sexton or Emily Dickinson.  But who hasn't done that???

In my first journal, when I was around 10 years old, I wrote about what I did that day:  went to the grocery store with mom, ate mac & cheese for supper.  Virtually every concluding sentence was, "Today was a good day."

As I moved into junior high and early high school, I began the bad poetry shtick.  This poem is titled, "Dream Enchantment."  Good grief.

As I got older, my handwriting grew more chicken-scratchy and my mood grew more bleak.  No more "Today was a good day" endings.

When D and I became engaged, I started a journal of our engagement, which I gave to him as a surprise as part of our wedding ceremony.

I journaled about our marriage preparations.  How I felt about him.  What I expected marriage to be.  I clipped articles and cartoons about marriage.

I kept pregnancy journals throughout each pregnancy and then began journals for each of the kids.  I treasure these most of all.

N's journals.  

(First-born children get all the spoils.  Of course, much of my writing from the time N was 2-and-a-half has been blogged.)

I write down funny things they've said over time and include little notes they've written.  The note below was written by N.  It says, "I waas seik."  (I was sick)

The blogging explains why G and M only have 2 journals each.

G's journals

I keep tickets of events we take the kids to see.  This is the ticket from G's first movie-theater experience---seeing Cars 2 this past summer.  

M's journals

M obviously doesn't say much, but I do write down new words he is saying and books he wants me to read over and over and over.