Jeremy is in South Dakota snowmobiling for the week. He forgot to tell Toby who has been running around the house looking for him. Poor dog.
-- February 9, 2016
Kara, Grace, Jack, and I took our annual trip to Chuck E. Cheese. The pizza wasn't TOO bad.
-- July 6, 2016
Pulled out the garden today and found a watermelon hiding amongst the Cosmos. stalks.
-- October 22, 2017
Today, I was hired to teach Introduction to Teaching at UW-Whitewater in the spring. I'm so excited!
-- December 12, 2018
Gas is $2.49/gallon. Going up!
-- January 26, 2017
Saw two Redwing Blackbirds at the feeder and two Sandhill Cranes flying north. I think spring is coming!
-- March 20, 2019
These are examples of the kinds of entries my future ancestors will find in my Sentence a Day Journal (affiliate link).
I began this five-year journal on September 5, 2016 and every day since then, I've recorded one thought about each day.
I do so not only to make these memories permanent before I forget them but to provide a written documentation of my life for those who come after me.
I mean, how cool would it be to have your great-grandma's journal? Imagine how fun and enlightening that would be.
Keeping this Sentence a Day Journal requires me to notice life. To take mental note of the interesting things I see and do so I can write them down.
On those days when I'm not very mindful, writing a line about the day is a struggle. It is a good reminder that I need to notice more.
I could write more than one line every day, but it's the simplicity of the Sentence a Day Journal that makes this task doable. If I had to write a list of 10 things that happened each day, I would surely have given up by September 10, 2016, five days after starting.
How do you preserve your TODAYS for TOMORROW? Can you commit to writing down just one sentence a day?
Jennifer Laffin is a teacher of teachers, the founder of Teach Write LLC, and a co-moderator of the #TeachWrite Twitter Chat. She is committed to helping teachers and their students grow as writers because she has seen how writing can transform you both personally and professionally. You can find her learning with others on Twitter @TeachWriteEDU, on Facebook, or at www.teachwrite.org.
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I keep one of these journals as well. In fact, I just completed my first 5-year journal last year and began a new one this year! It was really easy to write one sentence a day, but mostly I enjoyed getting to read the previous year's day as I progressed. It was always interesting to look back. I also turned my journal into a bit of a scrap book -- tucking away tickets, photo booth pictures, and stickers between the pages.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea and it was so much fun to get a peek into your single sentences!!! LOVE!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a glimpse of your journal with us. This is such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea. A bit like a "small moments" journal, in a way. Just that one small moment in time. Thanks for sharing this idea with u! -- Christie
ReplyDeleteI've seen those at the store before and always been curious...Now I really feel like I want one! I love the idea of looking back through it after years!
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