Journal Yearning

Pmo and I used to have a habit of recounting the entire weekend on Sunday night. Everything we did, everywhere we went, everything we saw. That task has fallen by the wayside, same as my journals.

On our first vacation together, I wrote up everything we had done at the end of the day on my computer. While it was fresh in my mind and I could still remember details. Because if you wait much longer than that, you lose so many memories. I eventually turned my writing and pictures into a scrapbook. It was a lot of work, but I'm glad I have it in the back bedroom to look at whenever I want. I have also put sets of pictures on a few DVDs (with songs, of course) and given them to Pmo as presents.

I enjoy putting stuff like that together. I just haven't done much of it in lately. I started looking at journals the other night at Barnes and Noble. Crisp, unwritten pages bound by leather or canvas. Sometimes with a tie wrapped around or buttoned by a flap. The travel journals really sparked my interest. I thought about getting one but wasn't sure I would actually use it. I hate waste.

This blog is a journal, obviously. But you see how often I come up with something to write about on here. And how often do I just write about writing? Sometimes, I don't want to go public with my thoughts. I have a few journals I keep from difficult times in my life that I don't necessarily want everyone to see. Then again, I have considered trying to make a book out of those entries, too.

As I've grown older, it's been much easier for me to write fact than fiction. That's why a blog works. And keeping something like a travel journal would make sense. I don't have to sit and wait for inspiration to hit me. I just tell what happened. Sitting here at the kitchen table helps, too. When I sit in the recliner with the TV on, my mind goes numb and I quit thinking for awhile. Which I like. Which I often need to do, especially after work. But with just music playing and creativity flowing into the air, I can actually form thoughts and come up with a plan. I don't like silence. Dead air, as we call it in the TV biz :)

I bought this computer in 2007 because I wanted to be like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City. I've admitted this before and I have no shame. But another advantage to blogging or keeping a journal in a word document is that you don't have to see my handwriting. I love the look and feel of a journal in my hand, but if it's not legible, what's the point? Alright, my handwriting isn't that bad, but if I get in a hurry, I start making mistakes. Not a big fan of white out. And my hand starts hurting. Then I quit writing. And that's no fun.

Still, I may go back to B&N and buy that travel journal for our next trip. I could drag my scrapbooking supplies out and go shopping for new ones. I might print out some pictures and take a stab at another memory keepsake. I may go find one of those journals in the back that I know is blank and start filling it. I could read my old entries and form those thoughts into a rough draft. But for now, I'll probably go start reading the book I bought Friday night and go to sleep. And dream of brown leather and perfect cursive.