Hello!
I certainly hope you are doing well this week! Does anybody know what day it is or what the date is without having to look at a calendar or the date on your phone? The days can run together a little when we don’t have events or happenings that help us to punctuate our days. I remember when my family and I went to Norway last summer we had some of the same kind difficulties knowing what day it was because the sun never set. It was always light outside and it made it hard to know when one day ended and another began. It has also proven challenging to us to recall during what part of the trip we visited certain sites. I didn’t know it at the time, but the notes I kept in my journal are extremely important to helping me remember the details of that time.
I have been journaling a bit during our quarantine. When I first started journaling, my entries would be very brief and almost scripted. Something like, “Went for a walk this morning. Placed an Instacart order which won’t be here for 3 days. No toilet paper or paper towels will be delivered with this order…” Now with a little more practice I am writing more about things like my Getty Challenge last week, or about my family moving into a new house this week, or about Riley finding and rolling around in a mud puddle she created. I think these types of entries will help me to remember these individual moments in what I think might otherwise be remembered as a blur of seclusion.
Are any of you keeping a journal? Maybe you were journal writers before COVID? Or maybe the stay at home orders have prompted you to put pen to paper? This may be the old teacher coming out in me, but writing is a great way to organize your thoughts and can help you see patterns you didn’t notice before, or just help you have a place to get your thoughts and ideas out of your head. It can also help us keep from getting lost in our days of physical distancing. I recommend it!
Let me know how you are doing! I would love to hear from all of you!