Keeping a diary

Several years ago I set up a Google calendar to record what I'd accomplished during the day. It was a private calendar, just for me. I didn't share it with anyone. It worked well for many years, but last fall, when I knew for certain 2022 would be the year I finally retired, I wanted something more personal. Something I could write in. For the first time in many years, I purchased a desk calendar. 

Probably fifteen years ago a friend sent me a very nice Daytimer as a Christmas present. I loved it and used it for several years before Google calendars came about. It was customizable and comfortable back then, but not so now. I changed. It did not. Not wanting to part with it since it was a gift, I slipped it back into the bottom drawer of my great-grandfather's desk and there it will remain, probably for a few more years. A spiral-bound book is a lot easier to keep than loose pages. 

I find that I record appointments on the Google calendar as well as in the diary. I like the reminder option that syncs with my phone. And it doesn't hurt to have them listed in more than one place. But there is something soothing about writing things down on paper. Perhaps it's the times I grew up in, or perhaps it's that the diary will be tangible evidence that I existed. That I prospered. 

I found bits and pieces of journals my mother began at the beginning of several different years but never followed through with. I wish she would have continued. To read her thoughts - ones she never shared with me - brought me to tears. There is so much she committed to the page that I never knew. 

Maybe someday one of my young cousins will find my 2022 diary and read through it. What will they think of their reclusive cousin who lived in the woods? I can only hope they find it entertaining. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, journals, diaries, simple country pleasures, a writer's life, old-fashioned love song, family, country living, rural lifestyle, retirement, calendars

A daily ritual

We utilize Google calendars, and a frequent topic of snark is about how long it will take for Google to either discontinue the service or make us pay for it and how much they will charge. If they do decide to charge for using the service, I'll need to reach deep into my pocket. Yeah, I have more than one calendar, plus we subscribe to the NASCAR calendars. One of the calendars we share keeps track of what we have for dinner. 

You can roll your eyes. It's okay. I get it. But without this calendar, I'd abandon all hope of having an idea of what to fix when it's my turn to cook. Same for him. It helps me know what's available in the pantry and the freezer. For dinners we really like, such as his chicken parm, we set the calendar for it to pop up in the rotation about every ten weeks on a weekend. 

It used to be the vogue for ladies in upper society to keep a daily diary. My Google calendar has become mine. I record appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, and anything of importance I did that day. It means very little to anyone other than myself, but that's the way diaries are supposed to be. 

As I ease into more gardening, I've found it very helpful to keep track of when seeds were planted, seedlings transplanted, and just general information. Getting older, my brain is already so full of things it's like a full glass of water. When I pour new information in, something old runs out the other side. So keeping track of things becomes important. Like Friday is payday. That's a good one to remember. Checking and updating my calendar every day has become second nature, and as an important part of my life journey as my blogs. 

Daily rituals may seem to some to be boring and using a calendar antiquated. I find it a quiet reassurance that all is going well in my world. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor