Writing - Journal Cigar Box

I've always enjoyed writing but when it came to keeping a baby book on my girls I failed miserably. I remember as a kid looking at my older brother, Tim's baby book filled out so nicely. When I looked at my big sister, Shelly's baby book it had a few details written in. But no matter how hard I looked there was no baby book for me or my baby sister, Cathe. What happened?

When you have your own baby you soon find out what happens! You can document in your prettiest handwriting the baby's first sneeze and hiccup or you can sleep.

I have kept a journal most of my life and just couldn't NOT write about the fun things my little darlings said, got in to, caused, or created. The journal cigar box was born.

I picked up the cigar box at a local humidor because I thought it was pretty not to mention free. I sat it on my night stand next to my bed and filled it with little snippets of memories. Regardless of where I was or what writing resources I had I would write about whatever my little girls did.

In my cigar box are dated entries on paper coasters, napkins, torn box tops, scratch paper and receipts. Here are some of my favorites:

This is a little entry I wrote 20 years ago when my daughter Stephenie was five. I hope you can read the dialogue.

One night while tucking my little Elizabeth in she informed me that she didn't like potatoes and that's why she hadn't eaten them at dinner. I called out to Daddy to make a note that she didn't like potatoes. Just then Elizabeth yelled out, "And write down that I don't like fruit-n-cotton-tail!" To this day, 14 years later we still call fruit cocktail 'fruit-n-cotton-tail'.

This is a little card Elizabeth filled out in school when she was 10 years old.

I love that she was 'usually happy'.

Don't let formality hold you back from documenting your children's life. When you get to my age you will be happy for any nugget that links you to those chubby cheek children of yesterday!