52 New: #27 Writing Wednesdays: Family Gratitude Journal
"New things" come in all forms---reading, listening, watching, climbing, tasting, cooking. The latest "new thing" is writing. Writing with a purpose. Writing with the kids. Writing mindfully with my kids. We started a family gratitude journal. Number twenty-seven on my "52 New Things" list, is a new way of journaling. If it wasn't already enough documenting photos on Facebook and Instagram almost daily, and combining pictures and writing on my blog (mostly) weekly...now I am trying a new way of journaling.
Throughout my life I have kept diaries, planners, journals, calendars, lists...I like to have a handwritten visual of what my days, weeks, months, and years look like. In the past, such private thoughts have mostly contained the goings on of the day sprinkled with some humor, some milestones, some hardships.
For my "new" take on this old thing, I am changing a few things. First, the new journaling process is no longer solitary. I am newly involving the boys in daily/weekly entries. In the past I have had a journal for almost everything---restaurants I've eaten at, books I've read, memoir writing, hikes I've hiked. Now, the "new" journaling will incorporate thoughts from the boys along with mine. It will incorporate gratitude, brag moments, future goals, and a current event headline. With this "new" format, I hope to learn more about myself as well as the boys. I hope to foster a love of the written word for them. I hope to bring life to our dreams. I hope we will live a more grateful life by putting pen to paper each day/week and thinking about and writing about what we find in our lives to have gratitude for.
To keep it fun, I've deemed Wednesdays our writing days. We can definitely write on other days, but I like Writing Wednesday as a midweek day to look forward to. By the middle of the week we should have something both behind and ahead to be grateful for. It may look like a bullet point. It may look like a sentence. It may look like a paragraph. It may look like pages and pages. I'm excited to see how this "new" writing experiment turns out.
We have one week of writing under our belts. Zach and I are the main participants in this journaling experiment. He takes about twenty minutes each morning to write in his own words on any topic he chooses. Then, after his solo journal writing is done, we both journal what we are grateful for in our new Family Gratitude Journal. A few minutes each day of journaling helps clear out the cobwebs and gives his mind a chance to focus.
As for me, the new components of writing in my journal are already clarifying things that have been cloudy. I see that writing focused on gratitude will open the future for more positivity. In a world of BIG problems (pandemic, politics, hunger, environmental issues, etc.) it's nice to have a SMALL place that will always be filled with hope and positivity.
While I still intend to continue with my regular journals (the food, the daily, the books, the hiking), I am adding a fun and happy "new" one to the mix---Family Gratitude. I look forward to looking back on the family journal in a few months and seeing what gratitude themes remain and what new things to be grateful for arrive.
If you start a journal, I hope you'll find it a positive experience. If you are new to journaling, there are several great online resources that can provide writing prompts. Or you can wing it. I recommend finding a book or notebook that you love and a pen that suits your personal style. I tend to prefer the boring tried and true black Papermate. Choosing a writing book that appeals to your aesthetic can help keep you interested and excited about journaling. You may also want to select a space and time for writing that appeal to you. Basically, any preparations you can provide for yourself ahead of time can make the entire process streamlined and easier...and this will ideally keep you (and your family) writing consistently in the long run.
For now we are sticking to basic writing, but the possibilities for a Family Gratitude Journal are endless---photos, drawings, stickers, souvenirs, anything your heart desires can embellish your family journal. Get creative. Be fun. Keep it exciting. Let gratitude guide you.
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