Journal where you are

Quote of the Day:  Writing is an escape from a world that crowds me.  I like being alone in a room. It's almost always a form of meditation - an investigation of my own life. Neil Simon

I write to bring back what is gone, to relive what is lost, to make a mosaic of fragments. - Minfong Ho

Journal where you are.

Make your mark.

Archive your life.

Live, Record, Remember

Do you journal with paper and pen or pencil? Do you type your journals and keep a file on your computer? Is your blog your personal archive? Do you, like me, have scraps and bits of paper scattered throughout the house, car, and your purse, full of notes and ideas?  Where is the most unique place that you've written something down? I once used a church bulletin (yes, during the sermon). My Uncle David appears to be journaling on the inside of his walls. I love it. I journeyed far and wide to see his home. It's a process for me to get there, and with my family, it is an idea that keeps building.

It all started with my sister Nancy saying that she had Friday off of work so she thought she'd bring Mom up North to visit her brother.  (He lives about seven miles from the Canadian border in North Dakota. I'm in central Minnesota.) Mom said, "I don't suppose Mary can get away." (It wasn't easy, but I did. I was glad to be invited along and I hadn't visited my uncle's home before.) By Thursday, Nancy called to say that our oldest brother Nathan wanted to go, too. By the time we met up at 2nd brother Phil's house, Mom and Dad got into the van. Nathan drives a modified van because he's in a wheelchair, with a lift where the middle seats are. We were quite cozy in the back seat.

The process was worth it. It was a cool and sunny November day. Dry roads, good company, a thermos of coffee, donut holes, homemade granola (by me), and great family stories. Not to mention my Aunt Sharon's delicious food and creative connection with church music.

If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have known about the journaling on the walls, or seen my uncle's great craftsmanship at the place, nor experienced the sun setting over the Pembina Gorge with a cool November sky.

And, the full moon kept me company all the way back.

Journaling Prompt:  Where do you leave your mark on the world? What kind of journaling do you do? 

Journaling Genes

Quote of the Day:  Years are like milestones that tell us the distance we have traveled. And while each passing year robs us of something, we can always recapture it in memory.  Strange to say, even those things that are hard to endure are pleasant to remember.

Through the medium of our written chronicles, we can turn back the pages of Time and review the events of yesteryear as they apply to our own lives...a lasting record of our activities, our experiences and our viewpoints...a living memoir of things attempted and things done... a vivid story that is ever new and ever refreshing to us in hours of recollection.  This diary is designed for just such a purpose.  It can be started on any day of the year and record the events of any five years on your journey through Life.
From the Foreward in my Aunt Millie's Five Year Diary, spanning 1936-1944. It looks like she wrote in it in 1936, 37, 38 (set it aside?), then picked it up again in 1944.  Here's the entry from June 1, 1944:
It was 8 below and New Year's day, All of (name?)'s here and Wayne and Beatrice here for their first dinner.  Junice & Joe went to Grygla. We have suffered a setback in Germany, but have regained some.

Journaling is in my blood, folks. Here are journals from my paternal grandparents and Aunt Millie, my dad's older sister.  Back in the day, they used the Five Year Diary, and in about 2 cm, or less than one inch, they recorded the happenings of each day.  The above writing is a typical entry: the weather, who came to visit, or where you might have gone on a Sunday afternoon, who had a cold, the farm.  I like this entry because Millie mentions the war in Germany.  I grabbed my Grandma's from the year that her oldest daughter died. And, while my relatives weren't much for recording, or showing, emotions, there is an entry where she writes that she visited her sister Nettie, "And the tears flowed freely."  Her oldest daughter, my dad's other sister, Thelma, died that year after giving birth to her first-born son.  It was a pain that never went away for my family.  An entry later that year said, "Little Steven came to visit, but no Thelma" no mama. I teared up as I read that.

 My grandpa Arne was born and raised in Norway, then came to the USA in 1921.  Most of his entries are in Norwegian, with an occassional word or phrase in English.

What a grand legacy I carry on through my journal writing, and now, blog - the Web Log, a glimpse of life in the years that I occupy this Earth.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you have heirlooms? What are they? What is the story behind them?  Do you find value in journaling, writing, or other art forms?

Soundtrack of Your Life

Quote of the Day:  For better or for worse, music is the language of memory.  It is also the language of love. - Jodi Picoult, in her novel Sing You Home

Sonja Hinderlie playing her cello in the Mount Carmel Trio

I am not original in posing the question, What is on the soundtrack of your life? But, I found it was a great journaling prompt for my friends and family at Mount Carmel.  I had a longing to connect with other creative spirits, so I announced that I'd like to get together with others who are interested in journaling.  I used my own prompt from my recent post, What songs hold a strong memory in your life?

A couple other moms and I met on Tuesday.  We talked about songs that we sang as kids, and ones that we sing to our kids.  One mom said that her kids love it when she sings Rock-a-by baby in the treetops, when the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all.  And, it's a lovely little tune and you sing about a baby and rocking, but then you're singing about the cradle falling and breaking, and when you think about it, it's not such a nice song afterall.  So, this mom, tried other words, which didn't really go over, so she wrote out a different image of the cradle falling into the loving arms of Jesus, and a prayer that the baby would be protected from the storms and falls of life.  A much nicer vision as you send your children off to dreamland.

On Wednesday, I tried meeting with a few more people right after lunch.  My mom was the first one there, and we were quickly joined by two of my cousins, a cousin-in-law, and another woman (the only non-Aalgaard).  We started by writing out songs and memories associated with songs.  My mom wrote a list of songs she likes to sing or hum to herself, morning praise songs, hymns, then started to write about songs that reminded her of her grandma and her parents.  We got a little family history out of it - for instance, our grandparents (on my dad's side) came into their faith by attending tent rival-type meetings back in the 30's.

My mom wondered what songs I'd think of when I thought of her.  Hymns, of course, especially Swedish hymns, but that's more her dad.  I told her that I think of her when I hear the soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof.  She likes the good, old musicals.  The Sound of Music is also a favorite, but what I'll always remember is that my mom prefers the first half of these shows.  "They end too sad," she says.

My dad sings cowboy songs and gospel songs and anything that sticks in his head.  He loves to sing.  And, I realized that it's a family trait to walk around all day with a tune running through your head.  I hear my boys doing it, too. Ah, Tradition! like in Fiddler on the Roof, or the way we all confessed to stopping for ice cream on our way to camp.

Go. Create. Inspire! And, keep a tune in your heart.

Journaling Prompt:  What is on the soundtrack of your life?