when i was 4 years old my mother would sit with me at the kitchen table with a little red diary. the kind with a lock on the side. it was called a five year diary. each dated page was divided into 5 sections....a few lines for each year. she would disregard that aspect and fill the entire page in one sitting. it was my diary, she was just the scribe. she asked me to tell her about things i loved and how i felt. (the majority of the time i would say 'i feel like not sitting here doing this' and she would write that). she transcribed my childish pronunciation and funny words. she recorded what i said, word for word. she persevered. and preserved. and now, over 40 years later, the love of having my own notebook of thoughts and ideas and sketches is still very much alive. my mother's most profound gift to me, i believe.
Monday, October 31, 2011
when i was 4 years old my mother would sit with me at the kitchen table with a little red diary. the kind with a lock on the side. it was called a five year diary. each dated page was divided into 5 sections....a few lines for each year. she would disregard that aspect and fill the entire page in one sitting. it was my diary, she was just the scribe. she asked me to tell her about things i loved and how i felt. (the majority of the time i would say 'i feel like not sitting here doing this' and she would write that). she transcribed my childish pronunciation and funny words. she recorded what i said, word for word. she persevered. and preserved. and now, over 40 years later, the love of having my own notebook of thoughts and ideas and sketches is still very much alive. my mother's most profound gift to me, i believe.
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Hello Annette:
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely picture of childhood is painted here. We wonder if that original five year diary still exists, or is it, regrettably, long gone?!
your mother is a wonderful, thoughtful woman...
ReplyDeletei am trying to do the same with my kids...
although not in such organised way,
i must admit ; )
Heartwarming memories, i got a small book in which my mother wrote down (long,long ago) the dates of my first steps, my first words etc.,i am touched when i look at that book, it is love, xx
ReplyDeleteNot only was it special that your mother recorded your thoughts, but the fact that you both sat down together and spent some precious one to one time with each other every day.
ReplyDeleteyes, my mother is a wonderful and special woman. and yes, the little red diary exists. in a ziplock bag because the binding started to wear and pages were falling out. but i haven't been able to put my hands on it the last few times i looked. i know it will turn up one of these days.
ReplyDeleteYour mom is wonderful. What an amazing gift! Jake and I are both doing five year diaries right now. We are at the end of our first year. He is very open so I know someday he will want to sit down and compare days. If you ever find the diary, it would be fun to see more of five year old you. We already caught a glimpse from your post and I long to hear more!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! She had great forethought in writing your feelings and thoughts so you would have them years later. There is nothing quite like the written word. It follows you through your life span and is there for your children and their children to peruse. I was always curious about both of my grandmother's and great grandmother's lives and while I had the voices of others who knew them, it is never the same as reading about them from notes and journals.
ReplyDeleteKris
wow, what a great idea. my mum wouldn't even listen to me, not to think of recording anything. I'm happy for you that you have such things in your life, and such a great relationship with your mum...
ReplyDeletethis is amazing! What a brilliant idea - I wish I would have done that with my children. How ingenious! My children love that I closely documented their growing up with photos, but how unique to have written down just a bit of their daily thoughts. I did manage to write down some quotes at least and we chuckle over them, but a daily log, oh my.
ReplyDeleteOh dear... I so love this;)
ReplyDelete