My mother’s diary: my inspiration

It was just a kelly green notebook, the kind I used for Math and Social Studies. But inside, day after day, for years, it served as my mother’s diary. Mom documented all kinds of things inside: births, deaths, new jobs, Easter brunch, the day she finished her hand-hooked rug (It took a year and a half, certainly something to note!).

Maybe it’s mundane stuff but it’s a glimpse into how she approached life. My mother celebrated the everyday. She delighted in the daily accomplishments of children. She loved family get togethers. She spent every day as if it was important.

My own moments to remember.

What I never realized until after she was gone, she documented both the mundane and the milestone. Just a sentence: facts usually, maybe a comment once a while.

Who does that anymore?

Beginning in mid-March, after I read all her entries, I decided I would follow her lead.

And do you know what happened? It became a moment of gratitude. What happened today that is worth noting? Lunch with my best friend, my son’s birthday, a concert with Dad.

Very few of them are “important,” just moments in everyday life. But as I mark them down, they become moments to cherish.