The Puddles

Writing is a constant in the life of an elementary school child.  But how many adults continue using this skill after their schooling is over.  Each one of my children come home at the end of the year with a journal that they have kept at school and have written in each day.  Most of it is not the “Dear Diary” kind of stuff that we assume journaling is, but most of it is a free writing kind of style where they write about whatever is on their mind.  But everyone should have a place where they can share their deepest emotions without judgement.  A place to get out all of the thoughts and ideas rolling around in their head out.  My children are coming to an age where they will be dealing with so much emotionally (growing up and becoming their future self) that finding an effective and expressive way to deal with it is good.

Since my kids were little (like age 2), they have been keeping a journal about their days.  In those days, it was just a daily picture with a sentence underneath it that they would dictate to an adult.  But they are all bound in a notebook for posterity.   When they transitioned into regular school, those journals became less picture and more written word.  We have even been keeping journals during the summer months.  I love looking back at some of those entries. But now the kids are starting to keep journals that are for their eyes only.  A place to put their deepest thoughts.  Even my non-writer Ben has requested a journal that locks like the girls. He is ready to move to that next level.

Journals are safe places. They don’t judge. They don’t “accidentally” share the information with someone else. They don’t remind you of all of your previous failures.  Each one of us needs that “soft place to land.” Family is the first place where that can happen.  But even there . . . humans aren’t perfect (even if they are family).  I used to keep a journal all of the time.  I look back at some of my entries and marvel how much I’ve grown or how much I worried about the little things.  The best part is to read and see how I’ve become the person I’ve become today.  But over the last several years, I haven’t written.  I don’t know why.  Possibly because my husband is my best friend and a wonderful person to share everything with. (I pray for all of my children that they can find a life partner like I have.) But I’ve lost something by not writing.  So this summer, we are going to go back to our roots. Journaling has always been a part of our summer routine, but the purpose was always to maintain their writing skills. Instead of daily writing assignments, where they journal and I read them, they are going to write and only have to show me that they did it (a flash of the page to prove they wrote something.).   And I will too.

All of my children are good writers and story tellers (they get it from their father).  So I hope my fostering the skill of keeping of a journal and writing every day in it that they will hone that skill.  It may be antiquated.  But it is just as important today as it was 100 years ago and my children will be better people because of it.