I like journaling!

My first journal was a diary with a key. I would like to see it again. I think it’s in the attic, in a box, where I do not go, you know... spiders.

I meant to write this post earlier, but it's never too late. In January, I started a new journal. The pages were blank except for a Bible verse at the bottom. The first time I opened it, the spine crackled. I’d forgotten how much I like that sound. My journals, except the one for 2020, are handwritten. In 2020, I typed my journal on my laptop. 

My everyday journaling is not poetic. It’s nothing that will be made into a blockbuster movie. I write the date, day of the week and the outside temperature at the time that I get  up that morning. In the evening, I write about family stuff, what story or book I'm writing on, any feelings that need to get outside my brain and also accomplishments because I am project driven. I dislike that I need to “do something worthy” each day, but I’m too old to change. 

I hear that journaling is popular again with younger generations. This makes me happy. 

Why do I write a personal journal when clearly my life is uninteresting and  simple?  My guess is because, in general, I like to write. Just like writing each day has become a habit, so has journaling. Maybe, down the road, someone might read one of my journals and learn a bit about me, my journey on earth, timeline of my life, the rural culture that I've lived in and of course my family. 

I own a journal written by my great Aunt May—my dad’s aunt. Like my grandmother, May was a strong and talented woman. She was a photographer in her early adult years and then became a teacher. As a teacher, she taught in a one room school house. Later she became a county school superintendent. She also married late in life and had no children. Her journal tells me that she wrote poetry, could tell stories and she sketched a bit. I met her when I was a child, but sadly I don’t remember much about her. 

 So that's it. I started my 2026 journal. 

I use other forms of journaling, too, but that story is for another day. To be continued…

T. 

Have you ever journaled? Is there a secret diary in your attic?