Yes, I keep a journal and yes, I write it in almost every day. Sometimes I write a few words and sometimes I write a few paragraphs. I also have a few things I like reading on a daily basis at the top of the journal, where I’ll see them every day. It’s a habit I got into a few years ago and it’s stuck with me since. Looking back through some of these entries I can see good times and I can see bad. I can read how I felt on days during my divorce and that depression feels real, but I can also read through the good days, like when Julie said she’d marry me and the joy comes back. It’s a wonderful way to reconnect with my old feelings and avoid having the years warp those memories. In fact, it’s funny how often I come back to an entry that shows me what happened is not at all what I remember happening.
One day, I’ll let my kids read this and see how they react to the raw truth about their dad.