Journaling

I have kept a diary off and on since I was 9 years old. I have always loved to express myself and document what was going on in my life. I remember when I got my Holly Hobby journal the Christmas of '78. I recorded when my brother went poop in the potty chair for the first time (including the size of the poop) and when a drunk driver knocked down the tree in our yard (such scandal!). I wrote down what I got for Christmas and Birthdays and I told about the time I saved $7 pulling weeds in the elderly ladies yard across the street. I used that $7 when we went to Silver Dollar City and bought a shirt (I was so proud). I wrote about failing my drivers test (driven part) and about being hired at McDonald's the same day. I wrote about seeing my future husband for the first time (in orientation at McDonald's) and telling the store gossip queen that I thought he was cute and the rest was history. After that diary was finished I took a break. Maybe I thought I was too old to have a diary. So when Ted and I broke up, I felt the need to write again. All my fears were poured out on those pages that I still have today. As an adult I started journaling again when I got pregnant with my first child 10 years ago and how I felt when I lost that baby because it was ectopic. I've kept a steady journal ever since.

This need to document has naturally carried over to the kids. I love recording their cute personality traits, funny things they've said, or what they're into right now...along with their daily activities and accomplishments. My own personal journal has suffered for lack of time, but I know how important it is to keep track of theirs. Along with this, pictures are important to me as well as video. The video camera isn't out as much as my camera is but I think even a little video captures a lot. I also like to keep any of their personal creations. Not just something someone else created and they glued together. I mean stuff they drew or made up themselves. Stuff that tells me about who they are. All of these things go in their "Special Box".

So along this same vein of capturing memories...I have to tell you about a software package that incorporates a lot these things. It's called "Footprints". Here is the link http://www.footprintsco.com/ . This father of three had done many years of his own documenting before developing this program. You can have up to 10 journals complete with archiving, key word searches, and topic organizing. You can also scan in artwork, input pictures, sound and movies! I just think it's the coolest thing and I have just placed my order today. I will let you know how I like it. From the website you can see all of it's capabilities. The possibilities are endless.

I think I'll journal more since I can type faster than I can write. And of course, the computer is convenient because I'm on it off and on all day.