“Our lives are not our own; they are for us to share.” -Henri Nouwen
Thinking about this quote in terms of journaling, and how journaling is such a great way to share our lives… not only with ourselves, but with our kids. You can keep a little journal for each of your kids and write in it, if only once a year on their birthdays. Touch base with them now and then. Write about the little things. Your kids will love reading it as they get older… and so will you. ;p
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Suzanne Tucker, aka Zen Mommy
In addition to mommying to two magical girls born in 2000 and 2003, Suzanne owns a holistic health center in St. Louis, Missouri where she practices as a physical therapist, Certified Infant Massage Instructor and health education teacher. Certified in a number of healing and life education approaches, Suzanne offers life coaching as Zen Mommy Coach and is the co-creator of the Yogi Parenting approach to positive parenting.
So sweet! We wrote letters to our kids… the night before we found out what gender they were. And I’ve continued the tradition and write them a letter on the eve of their birthday every year. They don’t know about the letters yet. At some point, I planned on giving them the whole collection!
Hi! I have separate 5.5x8inch moleskin notebooks for each of my children. I paste the pictures they draw, notes they write, and thoughts they share in their books as I come across compelling bits to treasure. They only get to read them once a year, on their birthdays. It’s pretty fun to watch as they go through all the notes I jotted down and moments I captured over the previous year. I have fun keeping their journals and I know they’ll treasure them when they’re much older.
I have a separate notebook I keep with notes on the things I’ve struggled with as a parent. They don’t get to read that now. I expect to break that out 10 years from now when I’m called out for being a bad parent by my kids. =P
Libby, I love the idea of reading only once a year / ON their birthdays. what a nice way to take a trip down “memory-lane” with them. and (as the visa commercials would say…) a journal as back up for when their on the couch w/ their therapist in their 20′s? PRICELESS.