Start the new year off right--journal with your granddaughter.

I've never done much journaling until I retired. I did journal with my students when we had quiet journal writing time in class. I always enjoyed that. But that "grab your journal at the end of the day and write about your day" kind of writing--not so much. I found it boring. It was always the same old, same old--"I got up and drank my coffee, went to the grocery store, prepared dinner..." You get the idea. Not very exciting and certainly nothing to look forward to writing or reading. But then my friend suggested a happiness journal, and that was fun. And something I looked forward to. I'm sure you've heard of them--the premise is to write a list of five things that brought you happiness that day. Easy-peasy and it fills you with gratitude. That got me exploring other journals. I looked online and I now have a gratitude journal, an "I want to remember" journal, a prayer journal, a bird journal and on and on. I even keep a menu journal. 

One day my granddaughter and I were talking about journal writing and she commented that she often couldn't think of anything to write about at the end of her day. I told her I had the same trouble, but that I had found some great prompts for journal writing online. I sent them to her. Then we started sharing with each other what we had written. We did this all through emails and texts. It was fun!

I'll share with you the prompts that got us both started on journaling more often and sharing with each other:

Added bonus? A great bonding time with your grandchildren!

Besides sharing our responses to the above questionnaires via text or emails, I enjoyed talking to her about her writing when I visited with her at her house. She would often drag me up to her room to show me what she had recently written. I loved it!

And if you have a grandchild that is a reluctant writer,  those one word prompts are great. And making a list seems infinitely easier than trying to come up with a paragraph or two about your day--ugh. And it's the reflecting about your day that is important. And oftentimes, one of your answers in the list enables you to write about a specific happening that you wouldn't have otherwise remembered. 

A new plan for 2019. . .

As always happens, my oldest granddaughter and I got caught up in the daily happenings of our life, and have been neglectful as far as sharing our journal. But I plan to crank it up again in this new year. And hopefully involve both my granddaughters. I've been reading that one should journal as you close out one year and begin a new one. Here, I'll show you what I mean--

Questions for both you and your granddaughter:

1. What did I learn this year?
2. What did I accomplish?
3. What would I have done differently?
4. What were the most significant events from the past year?
5. What happened to me that I feel good about?
6. What fun things did I do?
7. What problems or challenges did I encounter?
8. How am I different?
9. Make a list of at least 5 things that I am grateful for from this past year.
10. What habits/behaviors do I want to stop in the coming year?
11. What are some of my good habits/behaviors that I want to continue?

Final thoughts~

My reasons for sharing this with other grandparents are twofold. First, as I previously stated, it's a great bonding time for you and your grandkids. And as we start 2019, it's also a good time to suggest to your grandchildren that they reflect on their past year, and set some goals for the coming year. I also read where it's important for grandparents to check with their grandchildren to see how they're doing in achieving their new goals that they set for themselves. After all, that's what we're all about--being important role models and mentors in their lives.

And second of all, my fellow grandparents, we need to be about journaling ourselves. If you've never journaled, it's not too late to start. And how fun for your grandchildren to read when you depart this earthly home. They'll get to know you even more! And WE'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO MAKE NEW GOALS FOR OURSELVES! No matter the age, it's never too late to start something new, learn a new skill, have some changes you want to make for the new year. We can do this.

Lastly, if you've ever journaled with your grandchildren, please share. And I'll share with my readers. I love hearing from you.

I'll end with this quote from Robin S. Sharma:

"Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself."

And this one you can share with your grandkids:

"It allows me to get things out of my head and work them out in a way that feels safe." Emma Watson

Parting shot~

Yes, of course you can do this with grandsons. I have two grandsons--a 14 year-old and a 5-year-old. Trust me when I tell you that I'm not sure how journaling with me would go over with the 14 year old. And my 5-year-old is not writing yet. He's still in the pre-writing stage. I do know that he and his daddy replay his day at bedtime. My son often asks him some of these same questions: What did you do that was fun? What are you proud of?  Things like that. Any way you can get your grandchildren to reflect on their day/week/year is a good thing--whether it's shared journal writing or in conversations.

Here's another little bit of fun Christmas chicanery. You put a Christmas treat in a stocking, and deliver to a friend or neighbor. I like the element of surprise to it, but that can be hard to pull off. It's like being "booed" at Halloween, but you can, if possible, pass it on. Here, I'll show you the card that accompanies the treat. It explains it better than I can. By the way, I got this idea from Strong Armor blogspot. I share the link for this blog at the end of my blog:

And that's all there is to it. I made some cranberry bread and got some gourmet coffee pods and spice tea bags. I tucked those away in a Christmas stocking along with the above tag, and I was off to deliver some Christmas cheer.

And that's it! It's really that simple. Why is it that when you do something like this, YOU (the giver) end up feeling all warm and fuzzy inside? It's almost a selfish thing. My sister called me that evening as she was enjoying a slice of cranberry bread and a cup of hot tea. She said that she wanted me to know how wonderful it made her feel to know that I thought of her, took the time to make her a treat and then sit and visit with her. I see these ideas on Pinterest and stash them away. Perhaps you do too. But this is one idea I think is well worth the little bit of time to achieve. Try it--you'll like it! Spread some holiday cheer!

The blogspot where I got this idea:

​strongarmor.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-socking.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+StrongArmor+(Strong+Armor)

​One final note: Check out that tall lanky Santa in the first picture. My sister and brother-in-law made that out of cedar fence boards years ago. Isn't he cute? I think she could do a "how-to" blog on the making of that Santa.

As I wrote this blog, I heard from my niece. I had delivered her a SOCK yesterday too. She loaded up her stocking and took it to her neighbor today. She sent me a picture of her items she had placed in her stocking. I love it! We just keep stirring the pot!! 

Spreading Christmas cheer to people around your town!

I've written about kindness rocks before, but in case you missed it, here's the premise from the originator of this idea, Megan Murphy. I got this description and quote from Megan Zander's blog about Kindness Rocks. There's a link to her blog at the end of my blog.

"Megan Murphy says the overall idea behind the project is simple. 'One rock, one person,' she explains. 'If a message hits a person at the right time, or they join and they do it in their community and they drop a message that hits somebody when they need it, it’s like a huge connection. It’s what our world needs right now.'"

You simply write a message on a rock with a Sharpie, and drop it along your hiking trail or a public park. It might just be a message someone needs to hear, or at the very least, simply makes them smile. And what better time to do this than at Christmas!

Share, share, share!

I copied every one of these from Pinterest. I post for you so that you may copy as well. And I'm a member of a sisterhood of kindness rock painters. We share ideas all the time. I would like to share these beautiful and clever ideas with you from my friends in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as Albuquerque:

Sweet messages on rocks:

As I always say, this blog is for and about grandparenting through the seasons. Please share your ideas and most definitely, feel free to copy the above rocks. That's why I posted them. Painting kindness rocks is such a fun endeavor. You can do it with your free time, and you can certainly do it with your grandchildren. It's a great time of fun--painting and delivering the rocks. 

I know most of my sweet readers give gifts, not just to their family, but to friends and people that cross your path in your daily life--your newspaper delivery person, your mailman, your barber or hairstylist and others. How fun with Christmas kindness rocks to reach out to strangers around town with a Christmas wish too.

You don't have to take my word for it about the joys of kindness rocks. Here are words from my fellow rock-painters:

"I think...or I would like to think...I put a smile on someone's face, and that makes me happy. I always hope I touch their heart a little..." ~Beth

"When I paint a Christmas wish rock and hide it,  it makes me happy knowing that I am sharing the joy and love of the birth of Christ my Savior and hopefully bringing a smile to the finder to pass on to someone else." ~Tricia

Website about Kindness Rocks:


​​www.scarymommy.com/the-kindness-rocks-project/