I resolve...

Thank you so much for all the awesome ideas on things I can do for Josh to help him survive this crazy semester!! I love what you said! Here's what we have so far:

"Keeping the Castle in Order"
(keep the home clean, organized, welcoming)

Make Good Meals

Make or Get Sweet Treats

Initiate Quick, Fun Study Breaks

Have "Face Time"
(one minute to give/receive undivided attention)

Surprises!

Sex
(did I really just write that on my blog?)

Take Walks/Play Frisbee

Give Back Rubs

This should give me lots to work with this semester. And I'm still interested in hearing ideas if anyone has any more!

I did ask Josh, too, what he would say helps him most when he's stressed out. He said, "just knowing that you're okay and happy; and if you're having a tough time, just knowing what's going on inside you."

Swoon. Isn't that a cool answer? But it's not as easy at it sounds because I'm not always as content as I want to be and I'm not always the best at communicating what's happening inside me. That's something I'm always working on. And that is one reason why I need to journal.

...Which brings me to my New Year's Resolutions. What kind of blog would this be if I didn't post my New Year's Resolutions?!

New Year's Resolution #1 is to JOURNAL.

Journaling is (usually) a very important piece of who I am. I picked out my first diary when I was eight years old. It was shiny black with a turquoise, hot pink and purple design on it (my favorite colors in 1988); and its best feature was its teeny tiny lock and key.

So I've been journaling ever since. I have loads of old journals. Seriously. I was looking for one earlier today and since most of them are in a huge Rubbermaid bin in the back of our closet I started my search there.

Then Josh said, "Aren't there some under the bed?" And I said, "Yes." Then he said, "Aren't there some under the dresser?" And I said, "Um, yes." Clearly our apartment is being overtaken by old journals. It's not very convenient, really, to be a journaler when you move as much as we do. Journals weigh a lot. I've tried journaling on the computer to save space but it just isn't the same.

Something happened to me last year, though.

I fell off the journaling bandwagon.

I'm not completely sure why. I think it was partly because there was a baby on the way and I was just excited and distracted and busy. Oh, and tired. And partly because I never even bothered to get a real journal, I just pulled one of Josh's extra school notebooks off the shelf...Exhibit A:



As you can see I doodled a (very lovely) tree on it one day, but it's still a boring old spiral notebook, and wasn't ever as inviting as a pretty journal. (Our pastor, Neil Tomba, said last week that "Real men don't journal; they have notebooks." Having a notebook didn't work for this girl)

I discovered last year that I'm not the same person when I don't journal.

It's harder for me to connect with God.

It's harder for me to sort out my feelings.

It's harder for me to stay focused on what is important in life.

It's harder for me to dream and make goals.

So 2011 is the Year of the Return of the Journal.

Here she is:



Still not the prettiest one I've ever had but it was on sale for $2.99 at Target!

Let the New Year, and the journaling, begin!

Oh, and I'll tell you about my other exciting New Year's Resolution tomorrow! :)


By the way, a bunch of red squiggly lines are telling me that "journaler" isn't a real word but I'm going to use it anyway. :)