Monday, March 24, 2008

Journaling

I've been journaling without exception since last April. This week, I have been experimenting with not journaling. I have found that I eat pretty much the same breakfast and lunch, so why not try? The reason I have found: it is much easier to snack and add a handful of this or a bite of that when you're not keeping track of what you're eating.

Today, I was doing a "In the News" group with several residents. There happened to be a story about Rachel Corrie. There is a play about her short life "My Name is Rachel Corrie." When reading the story to the group of residents, we started talking about dairies. I asked everyone in the group if they had ever written in a dairy. Every single one of them admitted that they had NOT written in a dairy, but also everyone wished that they would have. Most did know someone who kept a dairy. Several had mothers who kept journals of the weather, daily menus and chores. One resident had a mother who became very ill, but the family was able to keep everything running smoothly as she had kept details notes in her dairy.

I've kept a dairy at my bedside since getting married and write in it every so often when I have something exciting to share. Usually, I write about big purchases, personal milestones, job changes, family additions and the such, but on occasion I have written about regular days. It is definitely these regular days that intrigue me the most and I tend to re-read those entries most often. Our lives are made up of mostly regular days and it's those regular days that shape our lives.

I will continue to keep a dairy and start writing more often as I know I am not writing for myself because I rarely read what I write, but more for those who will read it sometime in the future. I will also continue to journal my food daily as it will help to remind me of the importance of my choices.

7 comments:

Kathy said...

My own mother was a very busy farm wife with 10 children but still kept a daily journal in a ledger every year. Because of that I had a written history of both her life and my own from the day she realized she was pregnant with me until the time shortly before she died at age 89. The mundane details of her daily life such as what she fixed for supper or how many eggs she sold and for how much were the most intriguing facts in the journals. I think a lot of us think that a diary is not worth writing if we don't write daily or don't have great literary skills, but that is so untrue. Good for you keeping your diary...your kids will value it so much someday!

Matt Keeling said...

I have to say I have never thought about it as something for my son to look at down the road. I have never written in a diary. I consider my blog a bit of a weight loss diary and when people ask me why I am doing it I tell them I want to be able to look back on the journey.

Journaling my food (on the computer) is the key to my success. I also find that it is easy to begin to snack at the end of the day if you do no know where you stand.

Very interesting stuff. I think it is time to start a diary, and make sure to write about the average day.

noelle said...

I find that I forget half of those little snacks and so I wind up eating more than I thought I did in a day. I will even just put a note on my cell phone about what I have eaten and how many points it was so I don't forget to put it in my food journal.

Thanks for the idea about just journaling the mundane. I tend to journal about my personal drama, but my kiddos probably won't want to read that later! :0)

Anonymous said...

Funny but I was just thinking yesterday about starting a journal/diary. Every time that I start though, I get fed up with sounding so boring or I don't like my writing etc. etc. Hmmm. D

Louise Wedgwood said...

I have both a personal journal - where I get great value from being able to sort through my thoughts and what's happening in my life - and a food diary. I was sick of obsessing about the food diary - always having to write down straight away what I'd eaten or if I'd had a cup tea - so I gave it up. Now I'm finding the same thing - it is harder to stick to what you'd planned to eat without a diary to hold you accountable.

Anonymous said...

I have a hard time *keeping* a journal -- in the sense of keeping it going. I have a blog that I keep mostly my own weekly weigh-ins on, and the occasional "other" entry. The "other" entries are fewer and fewer between, simply because I rarely have the wherewithal to keep it going...

-michael_atx

Louise Wedgwood said...

Michael I've gone looong stretches without journalling anything, but I've just decided this is OK.
Sometimes you have more to say than others, more things on your mind. I know that whenever I DO journal I'll finish feeling much clearer and more content...but it's OK not to do it all the time.