Keeping a journal cannot only be beneficial to you as an
individual, but it can also be a benefit to your family.
Do you remember the family vacation to Disneyland when you
were 12? What about your parent’s 20-year anniversary?
Or your birthday party when you turned 15? The new house
you moved into in 8th grade? High school graduation?
All those family memories from family events — all those
moments in time, now past.
A family journal is a book, or a series of books, where family
members can journal about any event that has taken place.
For example, there could be one individual journal that you
take to every family reunion to capture current events year to
year. It could have photos, memorabilia and journal entries
from those who attended the reunion. The journal could also
include letters, announcements and other updates from family
members.
Parents can journal daily to their children and include photos,
drawings and other memorabilia. Grandparents can create a
family journal filled with pictures, thoughts, and experiences
of the grandkids. Children can start a journal to their
parents, sharing their experiences, dreams and desires. The
family can keep a sports, singing, dance, or other activities
journal to record memorable moments and events.
You can create a family travel journal. It is packed and taken
along on every family vacation. Each family member can
journal their daily or weekly experiences. This is a great
place to add photos of your vacation as well as other items
such as addresses and phone numbers of where you stayed, names
of restaurants where you ate, or monuments or other attractions
you visited. You can even include other souvenirs that were
collected during each trip.
For those that take photos with Santa, this can be a wonderful
family memory that you can record from year to year. From a
child’s first Christmas, the picture taken with Santa can
document growth and memories. You can also take the family to
a special place and take an annual photo. The special place
can be in the back yard or at the mountains, anywhere your
family enjoys being together. Then each person can journal
where they are and what they are doing that year. The younger
children can draw a picture or write with a crayon in the
family journal.
Your family journal can include the house or houses in which
you lived. You can document your family homes throughout the
years. If you never moved, you can take photos of when you
changed the paint color, or as the foliage grew. Each family
member can write an annual memory of living in that home.
Another function of your family journal can be to record health
histories of your family members. This becomes a medical
journal for easy reference to past medical histories. At the
same time, you can record your family tree.
A family journal becomes a treasured keepsake and a wonderful,
memorable project and adventure that the whole family can work
on together. This is something that becomes a priceless
treasure book filled with memories that can be enjoyed for
decades to come.
Doreene Clement is the creator of The 5 Year Journal, a journal
where you can journal your life in one book, for 5 years. You
can tour the book at www.the5yearjournal.com
You can reach Doreene at dkcomni@aol.com or 480.423.8095
