Capturing your
Child’s Spirit through Journaling
“Oh
Valerie, enjoy that baby when it’s little.
You’re going to need to remember these moments when your child’s a
teenager.” It was amazing how many of my
friends and acquaintances shared some form of the view that baby memories were
what they held on to in order to survive the teenage years. While I knew, or hoped, that these statements
were mostly exaggerative, I wanted a way to just bottle up my memories of my gorgeous
baby boy. That is how my journaling
habit was born.
As I’ve continued with journaling,
I’ve also noticed that it makes me a more reflective and appreciative mother. I
journal for each of my boys on a sporadic basis, though I would love to create
a more regular routine out of it. My journaling
for them has come out in various forms.
For each of my boys, I’ve created photo books that chronicle their first
year of development. I have a set of
pages for each month, where I’ve included pictures from that month and a
narrative of memories. With my second
child, I’ve found that I have more to say than what I can put into the book, so
I also have a traditional journal for him.
These are my more traditional journals that I keep for each of my sons.
Inside of my traditional journals, I have recorded letters to boys, telling them about the
things that they are doing. I’ve also
recorded a list of my 3-year old's “catch phrases.”
The most recent thing that I’m trying to do is to intentionally tell my sons their strengths and the unique things that I love about them. I really enjoy this new strategy, as it makes
me dig deeper and reflect more on what a great blessing they are. It also makes me feel good to have a written
record for each of my boys so that they will each understand how much I love them for the unique beings that they are.
I see many
purposes for these journals. The first
purpose is for me to look back and remember my son’s past more clearly. My son loves to look at his one-year-old
album and is shocked at how little he once was.
Another purpose of these journals is to have something to reference when
I’m struggling as a parent and need a reminder of my blessings. Finally, I love the idea of passing my
journals on to my sons some day so that they can reflect on them and get a
clearer sense of just how much I love them and what a wonderful gift parenthood
is. (Hey maybe I’ll get bonus grandchildren
for this someday! J)
Teacher Corner
As a
teacher, I see one more benefit to journaling.
Journaling is an authentic way to show my sons that I value writing and
reflection. Writing skills grow through
repeated practice, and growth is born out of reflection. My act of journaling will give my boys one
more example of the real world connections between home and school.
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