THE BIG JOURNAL EXPERIMENT

                                                                                                       

Most of us try to convince others that something we think is good for us would also be beneficial for others. Take healthy eating, for instance. Although I don’t pursue it with fanaticism, if I mention the importance of a healthy breakfast, those who know me, especially my siblings, will roll their eyes and chant: “oatmeal, walnuts, cinnamon, dried cranberries, blueberries, half a banana and skim milk.” And I always answer, “Don’t forget it has to be old-fashioned oatmeal.”

My brother, Phil, runs fifteen miles most days. Because of this and the workouts he also does, he qualifies every year for both the Boston and the New York City marathons. Runners have to be good to qualify for those, and he’s a firm believer in the importance of exercise. I agree with him but pass on the running part. I do walk every day, but he’s not terribly impressed with that.

I grew up in a family of readers, and we all believe reading is important so I don’t have to preach about that. Writing is different. Although, most of my siblings still send birthday cards, thank you notes and even a letter or two through snail mail, I’m the only one who keeps a daily journal.

I’m not the only one who thinks writing in a journal is important. President Obama has always kept a diary, although in a recent interview for TIME magazine, he admitted he hasn’t had as much time to write in the past four years, but said . . ."in my life, writing has been an important exercise to clarify what I believe, what I see, what I care about, what my deepest values are . . . that the process of converting a jumble of thoughts into coherent sentences makes you ask tougher questions.” He expresses what I believe, too.

In an earlier blog, I wrote about why I keep a daily journal, as well as a gardening journal - although that one was sporadic this past gardening season with the weather we had.  Not only do I believe writing in a daily journal is important to keep a record of events in our life, but it’s also therapeutic. Writing about things that worry or upset us helps us figure out a solution or put things into perspective, I also believe writing helps our mental acuity.

So to the “Big Journal Experiment.” This past Christmas, in addition to other gifts, I gave out 24 journals to my siblings, kids,  grandkids, nieces, nephews and the spouses of those who had them. With the journals came instructions and 46 writing prompts to help get them started like: “When I was young, I wanted to be a . . . when I grew up.” Or “The most annoying person I know is . . .” My sister-in-law, Joanne, always quick witted and funny, immediately said, “That’s easy – you.” They were to write anything they wanted but each entry had to be dated. If they filled their journal by next Christmas, they would receive a $25.00 gift card from me for gas, restaurant, store, etc. If they filled just half, it would be a $10.00 gift card. If they did not want to take the challenge, they were to return the blank journal because I can always use it.

The challenge was received with much laughter and/or eye rolling of “Here she goes again!” as they remembered the drum circle I’d tried to make a part of Christmas for several years with a variety of drums, triangles, thumb pianos, and other small percussion instruments to go along with  a cassette of Native American drumming. 

I told them I’d skim through their journals next Christmas to check that they’d really filled them, but I wouldn’t read them. I said it would be nice if they put a post-it note on at least one entry they’d like to share, but that wasn’t necessary. My brother, Phil, complained if he went to all that work, he wanted it to be read because it might be a literary work of art. My sister-in-law, Joanne, asked if she could write big, and my niece, Sarah, asked if she could doodle. Yes.

So how many took the challenge? So far only two returned their journals; my son and a grandson. Are the rest writing in them? My daughter, Mary, is enthusiastic about it because like her mother she keeps a journal. My sister-in-law is writing and my daughter, Susan, and my granddaughters, Sami and Emilie are, too. As for the others, I don’t know, but they haven’t returned their journals. They’re to let me know several weeks before Christmas what kind of gift card they want if they fulfilled the challenge. Next year I’ll let you know how this experiment went and how much it cost me.

So do you agree with my family that I’m a bit crazy? Do you keep a journal?