Reflections on Writing

It's been one year since I started blogging and I have about 170 posts to show for it. Not bad...

I was thinking the other day about the whole blogging thing and how this evolution of technology over the past five years or so has made such a difference in the record- keeping of our generation. Sure, journals and scrolls and brass plates and stones have been around since the beginning of time to provide a means for our ancestors (and us) to document our lives. Well, not so much the plates, scrolls and stones for me. Just the journal. I have random spiral notebooks all over the place with notes and thoughts written down as the moments roll. I think I got that from my Grandma Sue. She was the queen of journaling on any little piece of anything she could find. When she passed away three years ago, her writings were found everywhere, all over the house, tucked inside books, in drawers, in dressers, on the backs of envelopes. She was always writing. I miss her.

We spent four days in Pine this past week, enjoying the beautiful cabin that she and my grandpa built about 45 years ago. My grandpa was there with us and shared some of his life stories with us as he often does when we take time to sit and relax. What a great trip that was for our family. One of the most memorable ones, I think. Why? I don't know really. But the bonds were strong and I came home loving my brood more than ever.

I've been keeping my main journal on my laptop for about 13 years now. I've transferred it from CD to CD with each new machine, but still it has lived electronically for the longest time.

But now...now with the blog, my journaling and documentation of the comings and goings and experiences of my whole family is so much more consistent and vivid. I'm writing my personal history, one day at a time. And I find that I have the impetus to write more often while the moments are fresh and my memories are sharp. As I think back about my journal writing days of yore, I realize that never before have I written so much. 170 times in one year. That works out to almost every other day on average. What's more, I have pictures documenting the journey. Reminders of the joys and the funnies and the growing experiences and the progress of our clan...

Still, I wish that I could find (or make) the time to write every day. Surely, there is something of merit or something worth remembering or learning from in every day of our lives. Even something small. Something one of my kids said. Something I felt impressed about or frustrated with or enamored by. Something I read that made an impact, something I heard that struck a note. Something I felt that left me changed. Something that I might want to remember again someday...

It's been too long since I've scanned any of my scrapbook layouts to post. I'm so behind on scanning. Actually, behind on way too many things, but somehow keeping afloat amidst the craziness we call life. I love going back through those albums I've worked on over the years. My kids love it too. Sure, it's fun to see the pictures and the pretty page embellishments and the evolution of my scrapbooking techniques. But mostly, I love to read the journaling. I love to write on my scrapbook pages and share the feelings of my heart. There are so many letters (or at least long paragraphs) written to my precious children in those pages. All kinds of thoughts and dreams. Some lamenting, lots of praise. And mostly, just love. Someday I hope they cherish those thoughts shared by a young mother doing her best to raise a brood of four with the help of one very awesome husband and the rest of our village.