"Little Black Book"

A little over a year ago, my daughter gave me a "little black book", and no, it's not what you think.  This journal was to record my thoughts, my history, and hopefully give insight for future generations as to just who I am.  Whew!  Talk about pressure!

I am sandwiched in between two generations of writers.  My mother, the inspiration for the little black book, was a blogger of daily life long before the internet was even dreamed of.  She kept this journal nearby and when we kids saw her jotting something down, we would always ask her if what she was writing was about us. Lots of times, it was. She recorded what it was like to grow up during the depression, what life was like in the 50's, the things her children said and did.  She was funny and insightful.  She not only wrote about the sunny side of life, but also the tragic and heartbreaking aspects of her life, the loss of a child, starting over as a single woman in her later years, watching her family grow up and move away.  She was brutally honest with her feelings.  She saw most things as blessings, even though it was not always apparent at the time. 

As she descended into the nightmare that is AlzheimIer's, these journals became a boon to the family. We, of course, had no idea of the scope of her writing....there was not just one little black book, but many installments!  My sister took on the task of organizing the vignettes, and my brother had it bound to a lovely book that is a treasured keepsake.    We all have our own copy.  Though she is now gone, we still have her through her words.  While reading her thoughts on the advantages of "pockets" I can still see the twinkle in her eyes, or shed a tear while reading about putting children to bed at night and being impressed by their innocence.

Then, there is my eight year old grandaughter who has proclaimed her avocation to be an author.  She has what it takes...a wild imagination, a burning desire, and great punctuation!  I predict she will be a force to contend with in future years!

I fear that my writing style may be a bit offputting!  When something excites me, I am full of exclaimation points!!!!! and never use one when I can use three or four.  I also like dot dot dot.....when I would be speaking......and I want to pause for effect.....I use the mental dot dot dot, so when I write......I also employ the dot system!!!!!  Another bad habit (altho some would not say it is a truly bad habit, but disconcerting none the less) is my penchant for parenthesis.  I LOVE them.  When I have another thought (and believe you me, I have TONS of thoughts) I love to let you know that it may not be the main point I am try to make, but important to me nonetheless!!!!  Which brings us to CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!!  I think you know what I mean when I use them!!!!

So dear reader (and I DO hope someone reads this SOMETIME) I am going to try to do the online version of the "little black book".  This is my first attempt.   Cari, I'm sorry it took so long, so let me know how I did!!!!!