 Have a lot of empty journals around your house that were gifts from friends and family? What to do with those? I was on Pinterest and a title of a blog crossed my feed: "Empty Journals Cluttering Your House--Fill Them Up with These 30 Ideas." It was from the "Learning to Be Free" blog, and I'll include the link at the end of my blog. It's a good one for ideas. I'm afraid I'm one of those people who has a TON of journals, and over the years, I've found a use for every one of them. First the list that I culled from the previously mentioned blog and other blogs on the internet:
"Things I Learned Today" journal~ What is it that meme that's going around says? Something like....you're never too old to dream a new dream or make a new plan. I would add, it's never too late to learn something new. I like this idea for a journal. At the end of the day, one could write at least one new thing you learned. My husband and I recently retired our CD player and got a Sonos. Needless to say, we had a lot to learn about that. But it's good for us--gets our brain cells clicking. And just like starting a gratitude journal, when you have such a journal, it makes you consider all the things that made you happy on any given day. I would think the same thing would be true of a "What I Learned Today" journal. It makes you stop and think about something you learned that day. "Travel Plans" journal~ This is a little different from a travel journal wherein you record your experiences when traveling. This is actually all the plans--where you want to go, list of hotels, airline ticket costs, what to pack, weather forecasts, etc. I read once that even just PLANNING a trip tickles the happiness part of your brain--even if you never get to go. Just the planning can be worlds of fun. We should all try this. "Gardening" journal~ I'm not the gardener in my family. I don't keep such a journal. But my husband is a gardener and keeps a gardening journal and a record of everything he plants, where he planted it in any given year, and when to plant. I'm sure all you gardeners out there keep such a journal.  There are a wealth of journals at the bookstores, and you might have been the recipient of one or two or MORE!  These sketch books came in a package of 4--that's how people accumulate so many journals! More ideas for journals. I'll share my list of journals I keep. I do this because there might be some things in my list you haven't thought about. I used to keep a notebook by my computer to jot down anything I wanted to remember, such as a recipe or prayer request. I told a friend that I sincerely wanted to say a prayer for any friends who requested such, but that the request would get lost in my notebook and I would forget. She told me that she kept a journal specifically for prayer requests. That way she could always find the request. So that's what I do now. And for that reason I share my list of journals--perhaps it will give you an idea for a journal just as Beth's suggestion helped me. Live and learn and pass it on, I always say. :)
 Some of my journals, and honest! I really do use them.  More of my journals. I really like my "Favorite Quotes" journal.  You need a place to stash them so they're always on hand. I use this basket with a container for my pens.  I keep the basket by my chair in the living room. That way it's always handy. Random thoughts on my journals~ Memory journal? I actually don't keep a memory journal. I simply have a section of my date book called, "I want to remember..." It's just a list, and I might add something I want to remember such as something one of my grandkids said or did, a lunch date, a celebration, a news item. You know the drill and I'm sure it's happened to you. You'll relate something that your kid or grandkid said, and someone invariably says, "You should write that down." In a memory journal, you can! Bird journal? I have a backyard bird feeder and I like watching the birds who visit. My friend gave me a journal one year, and apologized, saying something like....I'm afraid I always give you journals. A pretty goldfinch visited my feeder, and I thought.....that's it! I'll use the journal Kathy just sent me to record observances and pictures of my birds. Favorite quotes journal? I use it to share favorite quotes with friends, either in correspondence or birthday cards. Gratitude journal? Once again, I don't actually keep such a journal. It is a section of my datebook that I've written the phrase, "I am thankful for." It's just in list form and I can turn to that section and jot down something I'm grateful for on any given day. A Book of Suggestions? I didn't mention this in my list of journals, and I really don't keep such a journal, although lately I'm feeling a need to do so. Right now it's a section of my daily journal, and in that section I can record books friends have recommended or movies, TV shows, and music.  This is a great bookmark. If you do keep a daily journal, this gives you something to write about.  I hope you have a quiet place where you can write. As E.M. Forster said, "How can I know what I think until I've seen what I've written." Books, journals, diaries, lists--they put order in your life. As I always say, this is a blog for grandparents. We've all come to that time in our life where we are very reflective on our lives, A journal is a great place to record those thoughts. We've also come to a time where our short-term memory is not what it was. Keeping lists in an organized fashion and where you can find them is a good idea.
I hope this blog this week gives you some ideas or inspires you to keep a journal. Until next week, happy grandparenting!
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AuthorRetired school teacher and now full time grandmother sharing ideas and looking for new ones about grandparenting! Archives
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