The best day ever…

Something new I started this summer with the boys is having them keep a daily journal.   While it is my attempt to help them in continuing to develop their writing skills, I also think journaling is a great exercise for the mind and spirit.  When I told the boys about it, first, I of course got the normal push back and the half-an-effort response.  “Here Mom”, they’d grudgingly say, “I’m finished” handing me their 2 sentence journal that barely said anything more than the topic of the day.  Me, being the strict mom (their term) that I am, of course rejected their finished product and made them go back to try again. After several sighs, rewrites and demands to include descriptive words and to tell me more, they would finish with barely half a page.  That was the first week.

Now here we are,  5 weeks into summer and you’d be surprised to hear journaling is their favorite summer homework.  When I first came up with the assignment of journaling I thought about letting them write about anything they would want to on a daily basis.  Then I thought a little bit more and realized after the first day of writing, all I would hear is, “I don’t know what to write about?  I can’t think of anything.”  Or they’d just repeat their first journal entry with a refined version day after day.  So I decided to come up with a long list of writing prompts.  Everything from, “If I was a turtle living in a pond, I would…, to, what is your favorite song and why.  It is across the board with random questions and ideas just to get them started thinking about something.

Yesterday’s writing prompt was to write about their best day ever.  When I got home from work, Gabriel had already finished his journal and Michael was just getting ready to start his.  While Gabriel and the neighbor friend played outside, Michael sat down at the kitchen table, pencil in hand, and started writing.  While I knew he was working on his journal, I had no idea what the topic of the day was or what he was writing.  I raced around the house, trying to change Isabelle, help the painter that showed up to do a test paint and monitor the light saber fight that was happening with the older boys in our backyard.  With a tornado of activity swirling around Michael, he sat focused on writing and deeply concentrated on what he was doing.  I remember walking by at one point and thinking, this is SO unusual.  But determined not to jinx the greatness that was happening in front of me, I very purposely made sure no one would interfere with his concentration.

The goal with journaling is to have the boys write for 20 minutes and spend the final 10 minutes drawing a picture about what they wrote about.  Some days we only get as far as the writing portion but that’s okay reminding myself it is still summer and there has to be plenty of time for play.  After at least 20 minutes had gone by I walked over to Michael again to see how is progress was coming.  I stayed far enough way so he didn’t even notice me glancing at his paper and pretended to look out the back window and the two boys beating the crap out of each other’s saber swords.  I glanced at Michael’s paper and saw him rereading what he had wrote.  He must have been satisfied with his creation as he put a period at the end of one sentence and moved onto drawing.

A few minutes later Michael got up from the table, walked over to me at the counter as I filled Isabelle’s cup up with a drink and said, “Mom!  Can I show you what I wrote?”  obviously very excited about his final product.  I handed Isabelle her cup, turned her in a different direction, sent her on her way and turned back to Michael.  “Yes.”  I said, “I’d love to see what you wrote.”  He continued, “Mom’s today’s topic is about my best day ever.”  He went on turning his body toward me so we could both see his paper as he read it. 

 

Michael's journal along with his picture of Mom, Dad, Michael and Gabriel in the car telling each other "I love you." 

He read, 

“The best day ever is when my mom and dad got me because they love me and I love them too.  Gabriel had to tell mom everything I said, that’s the funny part.  Mom and Dad give me toys and take me places.  The first place they took me was McDonald's.  They are the best parents.”

With my eyes fully welled up in tears, my heart melting down to the stomach inside my body, I bent down, hugged him, kissed him, told him I loved him, and then I said, “Honey, that’s one of my best days ever too.”  

While the day we met them will always be one of the best days of my life; I never realized how much that day meant to Michael.  Thanks to journaling, now I know.  And by this exercise I was reminded of another lesson... they will never cease to amaze me. 

Until next time,

Angie