In 2005, I received a beautiful journal, complete with leather covering, as a Christmas present from my wife. She bought it for me because I mentioned that I wanted to write a bit about my experiences as a father and have a conversation with my daughter. I did not begin to make entries until May of 2006, and they were sporadic at best. Then within a month or two I had stopped completely. I stared at it every day on my dresser, but the guilt was not enough to pick it up and write. How lazy can I possibly be?
The journal, in my mind, was to be something she would read when she is older, say 12-14. It would allow her to hear her daddy’s voice, with all the words, phrasing and manner of speech I currently use, as I speak/write directly to her. It was 100% me, spelling errors and all. The idea was for it to be a portal into her dad’s heart and mind as I share my thoughts about her, document her funnier moments and recant all the things we shared together as dad and daughter. Sounds perfect, no?
I justify my lack of writing in the journal, by thinking about the abundance of published work here at Families.com and on my personal website. Conceivably, my words out here in internet-land will live forever as a kind of virtual journal of my family’s travels, experiences, games, and essentially, life. She will be able to read any of my posts and, hopefully, realize how much I love her and her mother.
I got to thinking about this post, about suggesting to those folks who, like me, are too lazy to put pen to paper and keep a journal, that they should try blogging their baby.
Blogging is a living, breathing way to journal just about anything. You can also do some advertising in an effort to bring people to your site where ads you have placed may allow for a little bit of revenue from your work. You could also write as a cathartic release or to tell a story to family members scattered across the globe.
Take advantage of MySite at Families.com. You can start blogging in minutes, for free and with maximum ease. The medium truly is a push-button publishing platform and most anyone can do it.
Related Articles