Journaling with a pen pal

Sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, there were screens running information about many health issues. There was a list of many things a person can do to maintain a healthy body. Diet and exercise were included, but the one that caught my eye was the “check in with yourself ” title. The picture was of a woman writing in a journal.

Journaling is something I began years ago before my first child came along. I also preferred to write letters to my sister and my wedding maid of honor, and even a former stepmother. Putting pen to paper is very therapeutic.

Somewhere in the 80’s I subscribed to a book club. They would send me 4 novels, less than 200 pages each, every 6 weeks. Along with each shipment there was a “newsletter” talking about books that were in line for the next few months. But there was also a “connection” section. For instance other subscribers who were interested in a “pen pal”, yes, the antiquated pen pal. I read the brief “about me” of those requests and one caught my eye.

First of all she shared my first name. She was the same age as my sister, happily married and regularly attended church. She was raised Lutheran, but converted to Catholicism when she married. I was raised in the Baptist church but became a Lutheran when I married. She had only one child at the time. But what made me actually follow through were her hobbies. She read a lot, quilted, worked, counted cross stitch and crocheted! Everyone who knows me knows that I crochet, and I also work, counted cross stitch and embroidery as well as reading historical and contemporary romance novels.

The process required me to send my information to the publishing house and they forwarded it to the prospective pen pal. We’ve been corresponding for almost 30 years!

The old saying, “a problem shared is a problem halved”, isn’t just a saying. My pen pal and I vent about our families and about our jobs. And we vent about the weather - she lives in Maryland.

Technically, we send each other a journal! Rather than writing back and forth with short letters, we began using notebooks and journals. Sure, it sometimes takes a while to fill a notebook, but that’s alright. Having a notebook handy to write immediately about something that comes to mind makes it very easy.

Over the years we discovered that many of our calendars had the same dates marked as we shared birthdays and anniversaries of family members and friends. It was really uncanny how many dates our two distant families shared. But the strangest thing was when my pen pal let me know she was expecting their 2nd child - he’s now 22! - and the baby was due in early July. I jokingly suggested that she have the baby on the same day that my youngest was born. Amazingly, he came that day! Another birthdate shared.

I keep journals now on my computer. Open a new document each year. There are things I write in my journal that don’t get shared with my pen pal because they’re too personal. I do NOT intend to leave my journals for my children or even grandchildren to read! But in the distant future someone could find parts of my personal journals interesting, something to compare to their way of life.

Writing things down whether in a letter or in a journal gives you the opportunity to contemplate things. What you think about certain things, how you feel about the current events. And it gives you the opportunity to pray for things you should pray for, such as health and wellness for yourself and others, and for our country.