To: Cal, Addee, Evan, Nikki, Declan, Matilda, Kennedy, Amelia, Lexi, Cameron, Patrick, Emme, Claire, and Lily.
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
Anaïs Nin
Dear Grandkids:
Of course, you are writing your book. You just haven’t put your stories into a document yet.
The first five years of your story were already written about you through pictures and observations by parents, family, and friends. Those reflections are filtered through their own lenses and are quite subjective. But if you allow others to complete your story, it will not be YOUR story.
History and herstory, to be credible, must be biographical in nature. Only you can be the author. And you are still close enough to the beginning of life to capture memories of earlier times. Your memories might be hazy and inaccurate, but you alone own them.
Now is the time
You range in age between 8-27. I think that you have at least one chapter per year that you could write in your book. Your triumphs and misfortunes, mistakes and missteps, sadness and joy, and accomplishments will fill each chapter without apologies, only acknowledgment. What are those times in your life that jump out as peak memories? You are human, subject to everything that is human.
And you are the writers and – unless you are willing to share – the sole readers. You also know that some of your stories need not be written at all. They are private.
Journal Writing
Journal writing can be a way of documenting random thoughts that are seemingly disconnected, not in any order. Thoughts are a jumble of ideas, responses, and reactions. How many thoughts do you have in an hour’s time? A hundred? Focusing on one thought for even a minute is difficult. Writing enables a person to focus on an idea that multiplies that idea in a way that is impossible otherwise. Writing is “centering” thinking.
“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.”
Ayn Rand
I sometimes like to write on paper without lines, not constrained in any way. Laterally, horizontally, underlines, or circled. In different colors. Hieroglyphics. Pictures and drawings. Highlighting. Spelling and grammar do not matter.
What, Where, and When
The location that you write may matter. A friend of mine goes to a coffee shop to be by himself while writing. I begin my writing between sleep and getting out of bed in the morning, as I formulate my thoughts prior to writing them. Being in an unfamiliar location can also spur new perspectives.
The convenience of having a pen and something to write on gives you the chance to document ideas and thoughts in between times no matter where you are. I like to collect quotes and phrases captured from friends, podcasts, newspapers, TV, and radio. Some words spark something as memorable.
Your world is full of talk, most of it familiar and repetitive, but occasionally something may be noteworthy, so write it down in your journal. At some time in the future, you may think more about it and expand it.
For many years, I wrote on a Mead Five Star notebook. I still do on occasion but primarily use the computer or iPad to express my thoughts. You will seldom see me without a pen.
Your Private Library…At least for a While
Your memories comprise your personal, private library. In the future, you will enjoy reading some entries written years ago and reflect on how your thinking might have changed or evolved.
By committing your library to documentation, it may be passed on to future generations. It can become your legacy, an acknowledgment that you existed. That you were here on earth.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
Ben Franklin
Love all of you:
Grandpa K
Braidwood Beginnings 