I started journaling this past spring. Nothing deep or soul-bearing but a little prompted writing, following prompts from some creative ladies I follow on IG, just a few sentences each day. Once I’d made it past two weeks of consistent journaling, I was entering unknown territory. I’d never before been able to journal daily for more than 14 days. Hot damn! I kept it up for all of June, July, August, September, October, and November. I discovered fun pressed flower stickers, highlighters in allllll of the colors, creative lettering techniques (thanks, aforementioned ladies!), colorful and patterned washi tape, a mini portable printer with sticky photo paper, and lots of fabulous new pens. Was I in it for the accessories? Perhaps. I’ll take whatever inspiration I can find! Regardless, I recorded thoughts and questions and memories and wishes for six whole months. I set up a clean desk space at home to organize those fun accessories. I wrote from that desk in CO, from my childhood porch in VT, from an airplane flying between CO and VT, and even from a canoe in northern MT.
But I started getting behind in December. It all just became too much to maintain. School was germy and stressful, I had just learned that I’d had severe anemia since the fall and that’s why I was so heavily fatigued all the time, and the thought of sitting down to catch-up journal and create for even a few minutes at a time was overwhelming.
So I let it go. The days kept passing, even without my pens marking their presence.
I felt guilty for a hot second or two and then one of my IG creative journaling guides randomly posted something about how it’s totally okay to miss days or weeks or months or more. (Wait – I wasn’t the only one fretting about this perceived character flaw?!?!) It might sound silly but my brain truly didn’t know that that was okay. This was the permission I needed to hear.
So I took it. The months kept passing, still without my pens marking their presence.
And now it’s March.
In an organizational moment this afternoon, I felt the urge to open my journal. It’s the start of a new month, yesterday I’d screenshotted March’s journal prompt list, my highlighters and stickers and pens and washi tapes were staring at me, and it just felt like the thing to do.
So I did it.
And you know what?
Today is, indeed, a great day to start again.
❤️
(If the video works, it’s from back in June when I just set up my desk area and had begun the daily journal prompts. The ice cream is obviously because it was the last week of school.)
Writing and Laughing 
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