The Little Journal

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Whenever I’m in the National Bookstore (or any bookstore for that matter), I always seem to gravitate to the journals. Notebooks fill up very quickly in my house and I never, ever go anywhere without a journal in my bag. I buy them pretty regularly.

I didn’t realise how much of a trademark of mine the journal had become until just a few days ago in the city bookstore. Browsing through the brightly coloured journals Jerry proceeded to want one for himself and I firmly said no, thinking it would be a complete waste of money. I imagined buying an expensive journal to be filled with kiddie scribble and torn up to make paper aeroplanes.

Dejected he said ‘But Tita Mel I want to have one of those books, and just like you I will write my secrets‘. I turned around astonished, I had no idea Jerry really thought about what I was writing. He immediately wanted a journal with a lock ‘then you can never find my secrets Tita Mel‘ but settled for a little black book with a rope tie and hearts on the front.

Every night since then we write in our journals at the same time. I’ve explained to him that in your journal you can write how you are feeling, the things that happened in the day, and what you would like to happen tomorrow. He asked if it was ok to draw pictures in his journal, so I told him it was his own private book and he could actually write anything he wanted.

So Jerry hides his journal away during the day so I can’t read it (even though I’ve had to write a few sentences in the back for him to copy because he is still way behind with his writing skills). And I feel incredibly blessed to have this little boy in my life who feels so drawn to everything I do. He’s even told me that when he grows up he wants a computer just like mine and he will write stories for his job.

© 2017 Melinda J. Irvine